Euphorbia lurida
Woodland spurge
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Family: Euphorbiaceae · Type: Perennial · Native
Euphorbia lurida (Woodland spurge) is a native California perennial in the Euphorbiaceae family, recognized by high elevation habitat and horned glands without appendages diagnostic.
Woodland spurge is a California native perennial found in southwestern California on dry slopes and flats at elevations of 1,300 to 2,800 meters. Flowering from April to July, this plant produces small yellow-green flowers in compact clusters with distinctive whorled leaf arrangements. Growing with ascending to erect stems 10 to 35 centimeters tall, it emerges several stems from its base with a delicate, glabrous structure. Its leaves are notably spoon-shaped to obovate, with proximal leaves alternating and the uppermost leaves forming a distinctive whorl of five leaves, each blade measuring 0.5 to 2 centimeters long and tapering to an acute or rounded tip. The fruit is approximately 4 millimeters long, ovoid in shape, with seeds featuring a subtle net-like surface texture.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 19 sympatric species; high elevation habitat and horned glands without appendages diagnostic
Habitat and range
Habitat: Common. Dry slopes, flats
Elevation: 1300-2800 m
California counties: San Bernardino, Riverside, San Diego, Kern, Ventura, Los Angeles, Monterey, Tulare
Outside California: to Utah, New Mexico
Bloom period
Euphorbia lurida blooms Apr-Jul.
How to tell it apart
vs Croton: Euphorbia bleeds milky white latex and packs its flowers into a tiny cup (cyathium) rimmed with nectar glands; Croton has watery sap, stellate or scaly hairs, and ordinary small separate male and female flowers.; vs Stillingia: Euphorbia flowers sit in a gland-bearing cyathium; Stillingia bears its flowers in a spike with a pair of glands flanking each subtending bract and has no cyathium cup.; vs Ditaxis: Euphorbia has latex and the cyathium; Ditaxis has clear sap, 5-parted petaled male and female flowers, and 2-forked (malpighiaceous) hairs.; vs Asclepias: Both ooze milky sap, but Euphorbia's minute flowers cluster in a cyathium and ripen into a 3-lobed capsule; milkweeds have showy 5-parted flowers with a crown and paired follicles of plumed seeds.; vs Polygonum: Prostrate mat spurges leak milky sap when torn and have paired stipules with opposite leaves at the nodes; knotweeds have clear sap and a papery sheath (ocrea) wrapping each node.
Frequently asked questions
Is Euphorbia lurida native to California?
Yes. Euphorbia lurida is native to California (recorded as native).
When does Euphorbia lurida bloom?
Euphorbia lurida blooms Apr-Jul.
Where in California does Euphorbia lurida grow?
Euphorbia lurida occurs in San Bernardino, Riverside, San Diego, Kern, Ventura, Los Angeles, Monterey, Tulare, at elevations of 1300-2800 m.
What plant family does Euphorbia lurida belong to?
Euphorbia lurida is in the Euphorbiaceae family, genus Euphorbia.
What habitat does Euphorbia lurida grow in?
Euphorbia lurida grows in Common. Dry slopes, flats.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
Sources: Jepson eFlora · Index of California Plant Names · CalPhotos
Last updated 2026-10-06
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.