|
Photographer: Steve C. Garske
|
Family Euphorbiaceae
Euphorbia esula L. var. esula
leafy spurge, wolf's-milk
Euphorbia: for Euphorbus, corpulent Greek physician of Juba II, King of Mauretania. Juba, educated in Rome, and married to daughter of Antony and Cleopatra. From eu, "good" and phorbe, "pasture or fodder," thus giving euphorbos the meaning "well fed."
esula: old name from Celtic esu for "sharp" referring to acrid milky juice
Hazardous 
Restricted Invasive - Eradicate!
|
|
| Status: | Introduced - naturalized; ecologically invasive and noxious weed |
| Plant: | erect, perennial, 12"-28" tall, usually hairless forb, milky white sap that can cause skin rashes; stems with usually 7-15 alternate, flowering branches below the main umbel; colony-forming roots to 15' deep |
| Flower: | green to yellow, no petals or sepals, upper leaves petal-like; inflorescence a 5" wide umbel with opposite leaves; blooms May-Sept. |
| Leaf: | bluish-green; alternate stem leaves linear to lance-like; those below the flower umbel shorter and wider, becoming oval |
| Habitat: | sun; dry; disturbed sites; in light soil |
| Notes: | to eradicate, use herbicide annually; biologically control with insects and goats; toxic to cattle |
| (Glossary) |
|
