Euphorbia lathyris |
Euphorbia cyparissias |
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caper spurge, euphorbe épurge, gopher plant, gopher spurge, mole plant |
cypress spurge, euphorbe cypress, graveyard 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, often with short axillary vegetative shoots with very narrow leaves, 10–50 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 linear to linear-ovate or linear-oblanceolate, 5–30 × 0.5–3 mm, base rounded to cuneate, margins entire, apex rounded to acute, surfaces glabrous; venation inconspicuous, only 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 to slightly urceolate, 1.5–2 × 0.9–1.1 mm, glabrous; glands 4, crescent-shaped; 0.4–0.6 × 0.7–1.3 mm; horns convergent, 0.1–0.5 mm. |
Staminate flowers | 25–30. |
15–25. |
Pistillate flowers | ovary glabrous; styles 0.7–2.2 mm, 2-fid. |
ovary glabrous; styles 1–1.2 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. |
subglobose, 2.5–3 × 3–4 mm, slightly lobed; cocci rounded, granulate, glabrous; columella 1.9–2.1 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. |
blackish, ovoid-oblong, 1.8–2.5 × 1.4–1.7 mm, smooth; caruncle nipple-shaped or subreniform, 0.2–0.4 × 0.7–1.1 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 6–25, each 1–2-times 2-branched; pleiochasial bracts similar in shape to distal leaves except shorter and wider; dichasial bracts distinct, widely ovate, rhombic or reniform, base obtuse to truncate, margins entire, apex acute or obtuse, sometimes mucronulate; axillary cymose branches 0–15. |
Cyathia | peduncle 0–0.5 mm. |
peduncle 0–0.5 mm. |
Euphorbia lathyris |
Euphorbia cyparissias |
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Phenology | Flowering and fruiting winter–fall. | Flowering and fruiting spring–fall. |
Habitat | Roadsides, cultivated fields, stream banks, waste places. | Fields, roadsides, waste places. |
Elevation | 0–1800 m. (0–5900 ft.) | 0–1500 m. (0–4900 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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AR; CA; CO; CT; DC; DE; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; KY; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MT; NC; NE; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OR; PA; RI; SC; TN; UT; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; BC; MB; NB; NF; NS; ON; PE; QC; 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. 301. |
Parent taxa | Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > subg. Esula | Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > subg. Esula |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Galarhoeus lathyris, Tithymalus lathyris | Galarhoeus cyparissias, Tithymalus cyparissias |
Name authority | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 457. (1753) — (as lathyrus) | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 461. (1753) |
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