Euphorbia virgata

Leafy spurge

Family: Euphorbiaceae · Type: perennial · Not Native

Conservation status: Cal-IPC Yes

Leafy spurge is a naturalized perennial herb found in southern North Coast, eastern Klamath Range, California Range, and North Coast Ranges in fields and pastures at elevations below 1,400 meters. Flowering from May to August, this plant produces small yellow-green flowers in distinctive umbel-like clusters with triangular-ovate bracts. Growing with erect stems 30 to 80 centimeters tall that emerge several from the base, it has a clumping growth habit with glabrous to slightly hairy stems. Its leaves are linear to lance-shaped, 2 to 6 centimeters long, with proximal leaves alternating and the uppermost leaves arranged in whorls. The fruit is a smooth, spherical capsule 3 to 4 millimeters long, containing small gray to tan seeds.

Habitat: Fields, pastures

Bloom period: May-Aug

Elevation: < 1400 m

Bioregions: s NCo (Sonoma Co.), e KR, CaR, MP

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