Burke: Euphorbia oblongata vs. Euphorbia virgata

	Euphorbia oblongata	Euphorbia virgata
	balkan spurge, egg-leaf spurge	wolf's milk, leafy spurge
Habit		Perennial from sturdy rhizomes, the stems 2-9 dm. tall, erect, simple below but freely and umbellately branched above, glaucous and usually glabrous.
Leaves		The main cauline leaves alternate, oblong to linear-oblanceolate, entire, 2-6 cm. long and 2-8 mm. broad, sessile; lower leaves scale-like; floral leaves very broadly cordate-ovate, 12-16 mm. long.
Flowers		Inflorescence of terminal cymes on the branches; flowers tiny, monoecious, borne in involucres; staminate flowers numerous, naked, each consisting of a single stamen; pistillate flower single and terminal in the involucre; involucres 2-3 mm. long, bearing 4 brownish-green glands with short, divergent horns.
Fruit		Capsule nearly smooth, separating into three 1-seeded segments.

	Euphorbia oblongata	Euphorbia virgata
Flowering time	May-July	May-June
Habitat	Roadsides, fields, ditches, wastelots, and other disturbed, open areas.	Noxious weed of disturbed soils
Distribution	Occurring west of the Cascades crest in lowland western Washington; southwestern British Columbia to California. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east across most of North America to the Atlantic Coast. [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. lathyris, E. maculata, E. myrsinites, E. oblongata, E. peplus, E. platyphyllos, E. segetalis, E. serpillifolia, E. serrulata, E. spathulata
Web links	Local floras: BC, CA, OR, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search	Local floras: CA, OR, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Euphorbia oblongata

Euphorbia virgata

balkan spurge, egg-leaf spurge

wolf's milk, leafy spurge

Habit

Perennial from sturdy rhizomes, the stems 2-9 dm. tall, erect, simple below but freely and umbellately branched above, glaucous and usually glabrous.

Leaves

The main cauline leaves alternate, oblong to linear-oblanceolate, entire, 2-6 cm. long and 2-8 mm. broad, sessile; lower leaves scale-like; floral leaves very broadly cordate-ovate, 12-16 mm. long.

Flowers

Inflorescence of terminal cymes on the branches;

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

involucres 2-3 mm. long, bearing 4 brownish-green glands with short, divergent horns.

Fruit

Capsule nearly smooth, separating into three 1-seeded segments.