Euphorbia terracina

Geraldton carnation weed

Family: Euphorbiaceae · Type: perennial · Not Native

Conservation status: Cal-IPC Yes

Geraldton carnation weed is a naturalized perennial herb found in southern California coastal areas in disturbed locations, sandy soils, seeps, and ocean bluffs at elevations below 160 meters. Flowering from March to July, this plant produces small, inconspicuous flowers in clusters with distinctive leafy bracts. Growing with ascending to erect stems 30 to 80 centimeters tall, it emerges several stems from the base with a glabrous appearance. Its leaves are linear to narrowly lanceolate, 2.5 to 6 centimeters long, with fine serrations and occasional larger marginal teeth, with distal leaves forming distinctive whorls. The fruit is a deeply lobed, depressed spherical structure approximately 4 to 5 millimeters wide, containing smooth gray to whitish seeds.

Habitat: Disturbed areas near habitations, sandy soil, seeps, ocean bluffs

Bloom period: Mar-Jul

Elevation: < 160 m

Bioregions: SCo

California counties: Ventura, Los Angeles, San Diego, Santa Barbara

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