Euphorbia rigida
Gopher spurge, Gopher Spurge
(c) Наталья Пикалова, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Наталья Пикалова · licence
Family: Euphorbiaceae · Type: Herb · Not Native
Euphorbia rigida (Gopher spurge) is a non-native California herb in the Euphorbiaceae family, recognized by large upright habit with glaucous leaves distinctive.
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.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 17 sympatric species; large upright habit with glaucous leaves distinctive
Habitat and range
Habitat: Near railroad tracks, grassy, weedy, disturbed areas
Elevation: +- 140 m and 270 m.
Outside California: especially United States, native to Mediterranean, Middle East
Bloom period
Euphorbia rigida blooms Mar-Jun.
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 rigida native to California?
No. Euphorbia rigida is not native to California (recorded as not native).
When does Euphorbia rigida bloom?
Euphorbia rigida blooms Mar-Jun.
What plant family does Euphorbia rigida belong to?
Euphorbia rigida is in the Euphorbiaceae family, genus Euphorbia.
What habitat does Euphorbia rigida grow in?
Euphorbia rigida grows in Near railroad tracks, grassy, weedy, disturbed areas.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
Sources: Jepson eFlora · Index of California Plant Names · CalPhotos
Last updated 2026-10-07
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.