Euphorbia lathyris |
Euphorbia agraria |
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caper spurge, euphorbe épurge, gopher plant, gopher spurge, mole plant |
urban spurge |
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Habit | Herbs, annual or biennial, with taproot. | Herbs, perennial, with slender, spreading rootstock. |
Stems | erect, unbranched or branched, 200 cm, glabrous, glaucous. |
erect or ascending, unbranched or branched, 30–90 cm, glabrous. |
Leaves | 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. |
petiole absent; blade oblong-elliptic, 20–65 × 9–20 mm, base truncate to auriculate, margins entire, apex obtuse to rounded, surfaces glabrous; venation conspicuously pinnate, midvein prominent. |
Involucre | 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. |
campanulate, 2.2–3 × 1.8–2 mm, glabrous; glands 4, crescent-shaped; 0.6–1 × 1–2 mm; horns slightly divergent to convergent, 0.1–0.2 mm. |
Staminate flowers | 25–30. |
15–20. |
Pistillate flowers | ovary glabrous; styles 0.7–2.2 mm, 2-fid. |
ovary glabrous; styles 1.2–2 mm, 2-fid. |
Capsules | 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. |
globose, 2–2.8 × 2.2–2.7 mm, 3-lobed; cocci rounded, smooth except finely granulate toward abaxial line, glabrous; columella 2.1–2.7 mm. |
Seeds | 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. |
gray or whitish, ovoid-oblong, 2–2.1 × 1.2–1.3 mm, smooth; caruncle ± rounded and flattened, 0.8 × 0.6 mm. |
Cyathial | 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. |
arrangement: terminal pleiochasial branches 8–15, 1–2 times 2-branched; pleiochasial bracts similar in shape but shorter and narrower than distal leaves; dichasial bracts distinct, rhombic to reniform, base obtuse, margins entire, apex obtuse, mucronate; axillary cymose branches 12–23. |
Cyathia | peduncle 0–0.5 mm. |
peduncle 0–2 mm. |
Euphorbia lathyris |
Euphorbia agraria |
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Phenology | Flowering and fruiting winter–fall. | Flowering and fruiting spring–summer. |
Habitat | Roadsides, cultivated fields, stream banks, waste places. | Grasslands, roadside banks, pastures. |
Elevation | 0–1800 m. (0–5900 ft.) | 200–1600 m. (700–5200 ft.) |
Distribution |
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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KS; MT; NE; NY; PA; WA; WY; AB; SK; Europe [Introduced in North America]
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Discussion | 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.) |
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Source | FNA vol. 12, p. 304. | FNA vol. 12, p. 298. |
Parent taxa | Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > subg. Esula | Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > subg. Esula |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Galarhoeus lathyris, Tithymalus lathyris | Tithymalus agrarius |
Name authority | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 457. (1753) — (as lathyrus) | M. Bieberstein: Fl. Taur.-Caucas. 1: 375. (1808) |
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