Euphorbia lurida

Woodland spurge

Family: Euphorbiaceae · Type: perennial · Native

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.

Habitat: Common. Dry slopes, flats

Bloom period: Apr-Jul

Elevation: 1300-2800 m

Bioregions: SW

California counties: San Bernardino, Riverside, San Diego, Kern, Ventura, Los Angeles, Monterey, Tulare

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.