Euphorbia rigida

Gopher spurge, Gopher Spurge

Family: Euphorbiaceae · Type: perennial · Not Native

Gopher spurge is a naturalized perennial found in the southern San Joaquin Valley near Porterville and in the western Transverse Ranges around Thousand Oaks at elevations of approximately 140 to 270 meters. Flowering from March to June, this plant produces yellow-green flowers in distinctive umbel-like clusters with yellow bracts and yellow to reddish glands. Growing with multiple ascending to erect glaucous stems up to 50 centimeters tall, it has a distinctively structured growth habit. Its alternate leaves are arranged in vertical rows, fleshy and lanceolate, measuring 1 to 2.5 centimeters long with sharp tips and nearly entire margins. The fruit is a spherical, lobed structure 5 to 8 millimeters wide, containing smooth, nearly white seeds.

Habitat: Near railroad tracks, grassy, weedy, disturbed areas

Bloom period: Mar-Jun

Elevation: +- 140 m and 270 m.

Bioregions: SnJV (se of Porterville, Tulare Co.), WTR (Thousand Oaks, Ventura Co.)

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