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Cypress Spurge (Euphorbia cyparissias)

Cypress Spurge (Euphorbia cyparissias) 

Description: Dense, matt-forming perennial typically not greater than 1 foot in height

Life Cycle: Perennial, spreading by creeping rootstocks

Habitat: pastures, roadsides, waste places

Leaves: alternate, long, narrow and smooth

Stem: multiple stems in dense matts, milky sap inside stem

Flower: clusters of tIny, yellow-green flowers with yellow, petal-like bracts 

Fruit: seed podss on a short stalk

Root: creeping root stocks

The problem is…. spreads from the creeping rootstocks

Cypress Spurge spreading in a field, Todd Pfeiffer, Klamath Co. Weed Control, Bugwood.org

Cypress Spurge leaves and stems , Steve Dewey, Utah State University, Bugwood.org

 

Cypress Spurge flowering stems, Leslie J. Mehrhoff, Univ. of Connecticut, Bugwood.org

Cypress Spurge flower, close-up, Leslie J. Mehrhoff, Univ. of Connecticut, Bugwood.org

 

Cypress Spurge spreading root systems, Leslie J. Mehrhoff, Univ. of Connecticut, Bugwood.org