Euphorbia myrsinites
Myrtle spurge
(c) Zeynel Cebeci, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · licence
Family: Euphorbiaceae · Type: Herb · Not Native
Conservation status: Cal-IPC Yes
Euphorbia myrsinites (Myrtle spurge) is a non-native California herb in the Euphorbiaceae family, recognized by succulent habit and yellow horned glands diagnostic.
Myrtle spurge is a naturalized perennial found in the coastal counties near Albany and northern Sierra Nevada foothills near Quincy in disturbed habitats like streambanks and roadsides at elevations from sea level to 1,100 meters. Flowering from March to April, this plant produces small yellow-green flowers in distinctive umbel-like clusters with triangular-ovate bracts. Growing with decumbent to ascending glaucous stems up to 40 centimeters tall, it has a distinctive evergreen habit. Its fleshy alternate leaves are arranged in vertical rows, featuring obovate to round blades 1 to 2.5 centimeters long with sharp tips. The fruit is a spherical, lobed structure 5 to 7 millimeters wide, producing gray-brown seeds with distinctive worm-like surface textures.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 12 sympatric species; succulent habit and yellow horned glands diagnostic
Habitat and range
Habitat: Streambanks, roadside ditches, disturbed slopes
Elevation: < 10 m and +- 1100 m
Outside California: especially United States, native to southeastern Europe, Asia Minor
Bloom period
Euphorbia myrsinites blooms Mar-Apr.
Conservation status
Cal-IPC Yes
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 myrsinites native to California?
No. Euphorbia myrsinites is not native to California (recorded as not native).
When does Euphorbia myrsinites bloom?
Euphorbia myrsinites blooms Mar-Apr.
What plant family does Euphorbia myrsinites belong to?
Euphorbia myrsinites is in the Euphorbiaceae family, genus Euphorbia.
Is Euphorbia myrsinites invasive in California?
Euphorbia myrsinites is listed by Cal-IPC with an invasiveness rating of Yes.
What habitat does Euphorbia myrsinites grow in?
Euphorbia myrsinites grows in Streambanks, roadside ditches, disturbed slopes.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
Sources: Jepson eFlora · CalPhotos
Last updated 2026-10-07
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.