Euphorbia alta |
Euphorbia lathyris |
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giant spurge, roughpod spurge, tall spurge, warty spurge |
caper spurge, euphorbe épurge, gopher plant, gopher spurge, mole plant |
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Habit | Herbs, annual or biennial, with taproot. | Herbs, annual or biennial, with taproot. |
Stems | erect, branched, 20–60 cm, glabrous. |
erect, unbranched or branched, 200 cm, glabrous, glaucous. |
Leaves | petiole 0–1 mm; blade oblong-spatulate, 20–50 × 7–18 mm, base broadly attenuate, margins serrulate, apex rounded to obtuse, surfaces glabrous, ± glaucous; venation pinnate, midvein prominent. |
opposite, decussate; petiole absent; blade linear to oblong-lanceolate, 30–120 × 3–25 mm, base acute, rounded, cordate or clasping, margins entire, apex acute or subobtuse, sometimes mucronate, surfaces glabrous, abaxial ± glaucous; venation pinnate, midvein prominent. |
Involucre | narrowly campanulate, 0.8–1.1 × 1.1–1.3 mm, glabrous; glands 4, elliptic, 0.3–0.5 × 0.5–0.7 mm; horns absent. |
campanulate, 1.2–2.3 × 1.4–2.5 mm, glabrous; glands 4, elliptic, 0.3–0.6 × 1–1.3 mm; horns divergent, thick, tips rounded, dilated, 0.5–1.4 mm. |
Staminate flowers | 5–10. |
25–30. |
Pistillate flowers | ovary glabrous; styles 0.5–0.9 mm, 2-fid. |
ovary glabrous; styles 0.7–2.2 mm, 2-fid. |
Capsules | depressed-globose, 2–3 × 2.5–3.5 mm, 3-lobed; cocci rounded, papillate, papillae 0.2–0.5 mm, glabrous; columella 1.5–1.9 mm. |
depressed-globose, 9–12 × 12–16 mm, deeply 3-lobed, tardily dehiscent and appearing indehiscent, mesocarp spongy; cocci rounded, smooth, glabrous; columella 4–5.2 mm. |
Seeds | purple-black, ovoid, 1.6–2 × 1.3–1.7 mm, reticulate and areolate; caruncle reniform, flat, 0.5 × 0.7 mm. |
brownish or blackish, oblong, 4.5–6 × 3–4.2 mm, rugose, irregularly reticulate; caruncle substipitate, hat-shaped, 1.6–2 × 1.2–1.5 mm. |
Cyathial | arrangement: terminal pleiochasial branches 3, 2–3 times 2-branched; pleiochasial bracts elliptic-oblanceolate to oblong, similar in size to distal leaves; dichasial bracts distinct, broadly ovate to orbiculate/reniform, base obtuse, margins serrulate, apex obtuse to rounded and often mucronulate; axillary cymose branches 6–20(–25). |
arrangement: terminal pleiochasial branches 2–4, each 1–2 times 2-branched; pleiochasial bracts cordate-lanceolate, shorter and wider than distal leaves; dichasial bracts distinct, ovate-oblong to lanceolate, base subcordate, margins entire, apex acute; axillary cymose branches 0–10. |
Cyathia | peduncle 0.5–1 mm. |
peduncle 0–0.5 mm. |
Euphorbia alta |
Euphorbia lathyris |
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Phenology | Flowering and fruiting summer. | Flowering and fruiting winter–fall. |
Habitat | Montane pine-oak and mixed conifer forests, disturbed roadsides, logged areas. | Roadsides, cultivated fields, stream banks, waste places. |
Elevation | 1500–3000 m. (4900–9800 ft.) | 0–1800 m. (0–5900 ft.) |
Distribution |
AZ; NM; Mexico
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AZ; CA; CT; ID; IL; MA; MD; MT; NC; OH; OR; PA; SC; TN; TX; VA; WA; WV; BC; ON; QC; Europe; Asia; Africa [Introduced in North America; introduced also in Mexico, South America, Australia]
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Discussion | Euphorbia alta is a montane species from southern Arizona, New Mexico, and northern and central Mexico that is very similar to and sometimes difficult to distinguish from E. spathulata. Euphorbia alta tends to be a robust biennial, whereas E. spathulata is strictly annual. The most consistent characteristic to separate these two species is that the ovaries and capsules of E. alta are distinctly papillate, with the papillae rising sharply above the surface, whereas the ovaries and capsules of E. spathulata are merely verrucose, with the protuberances lower and rounded. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Euphorbia lathyris is most likely native to the central and eastern Mediterranean region, but it is widely cultivated and often locally escaped in temperate regions worldwide, as in the flora area. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 12, p. 298. | FNA vol. 12, p. 304. |
Parent taxa | Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > subg. Esula | Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > subg. Esula |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Tithymalus altus | Galarhoeus lathyris, Tithymalus lathyris |
Name authority | Norton: N. Amer. Euphorbia, 24, plate 24. (1899) | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 457. (1753) — (as lathyrus) |
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