Cypress Spurge

Cypress Spurge

Euphorbia cyparissias L.

Euphorbiaceae (Spurge Family)

▲ clump of flowering and non-flowering shoots

▲ colony forming in a landscape bed

▲ ▼ flowers

▲ post-flowering plants

▲ hillside in Wisconsin with a colony of cypress spurge

Cypress Spurge:

  • Low growing, creeping-perennial weed, with a deep-growing, almost woody, creeping root system, similar to Leafy Spurge, but so far not nearly as invasive
  • Has 6-18 inch tall stems covered with many 1-2" long, light green, linear leaves
  • Slender, slightly branched stems often form a large, moderately dense colony
  • Flowers are greenish-yellow in clusters at the tip of stems
  • Used as an ornamental groundcover and has escaped cultivation in some areas--more escapes in northern U.S.
  • Leaves and colony formation of cypress spurge may appear similar to Yellow Toadflax, but cypress spurge has milky sap and lacks the showy snapdragon-like flowers

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