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balkan spurge, egg-leaf spurge

mole plant, gopher plant, caper spurge

Habit Glabrous and glaucous annual, the stems erect, fleshy, dichotomously branched, 3-10 dm. tall.
Leaves

Leaves opposite, numerous, narrowly oblong, 6-12 cm. long and sessile near the stem base;

leaves broadened upward on the stem, becoming ovate.

Flowers

Flowers tiny, monoecious, borne in axillary involucres; staminate flowers numerous, naked, each consisting of a single stamen; pistillate flower single and terminal in the involucre;

involucre about 3 mm. long, purplish, bearing 4 glands with short, rounded horns.

Fruits

Capsule globose, coarsely wrinkled, 5-10 mm. long, separating into three 1-seeded segments.

Euphorbia oblongata

Euphorbia lathyris

Flowering time May-July April-May
Habitat Roadsides, fields, ditches, wastelots, and other disturbed, open areas. Disturbed soil and wasteland.
Distribution
Occurring west of the Cascades crest in lowland western Washington; southwestern British Columbia to California.
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Occurring chiefly west of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California east to Idaho, Montana, Arizona, and Texas; widely distributed in eastern North America.
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Origin Introduced from Europe Introduced from Eurasia
Conservation status Not of concern Not of concern
Sibling taxa
E. agraria, E. amygdaloides, E. characias, E. cyparissias, E. epithymoides, E. glyptosperma, E. helioscopia, E. lathyris, E. maculata, E. myrsinites, E. peplus, E. platyphyllos, E. segetalis, E. serpillifolia, E. serrulata, E. spathulata, E. virgata
E. agraria, E. amygdaloides, E. characias, E. cyparissias, E. epithymoides, E. glyptosperma, E. helioscopia, E. maculata, E. myrsinites, E. oblongata, E. peplus, E. platyphyllos, E. segetalis, E. serpillifolia, E. serrulata, E. spathulata, E. virgata
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