Pronunciation: yoo-FOR-bee-uh sigh-puh-RISS-ee-us
A low perennial with a soft, cypress-like texture and yellow-green flower clusters. Closely spaced, narrow leaves cover the stems, while spreading underground growth can form extensive colonies.
Yellow-green bracts frame the tiny flower cups above narrow leaves.
Family Euphorbiaceae · spurge family
Genus Euphorbia
Habit Colony-forming perennial
Height Usually 6–12 inches
Bloom Late spring into summer
Color Yellow-green bracts, often aging pink or reddish
Leaves Numerous, narrow, alternate and untoothed
Habitat Open ground, roadsides, fields and grasslands
Observation maps show reported sightings; they do not define the complete native range.
Foliage: many slender, smooth-edged leaves densely cover the stems and side shoots, giving the plant its miniature-cypress appearance.
Flower clusters: several branches spread from the stem tip. Broad yellow-green bracts surround small flower cups called cyathia.
Seasonal changes: the bracts may turn pink or reddish. Rounded, three-lobed seed capsules develop above the cups.
Growth: numerous shoots can emerge close together from spreading underground parts.
Look along sunny roadsides, old fields, grassy openings and disturbed edges. The yellow-green display is most conspicuous in late spring and early summer; leafy shoots remain recognizable after flowering.
Native to Europe and introduced to North America as an ornamental. It is established in Wisconsin and Illinois and can spread into native grasslands. Sightings maps show reported occurrences rather than the boundaries of its original range.
Euphorbia corollata
Flowering Spurge (Euphorbia corollata): a native species with an airy display of white petal-like appendages and broader leaves.
Euphorbia virgata
Leafy Spurge: generally taller and more robust, with longer, less densely crowded leaves. Examine the foliage and the whole plant together.
Cypress Spurge combines dense, fine foliage with yellow-green bracts. The photograph shows its characteristic leafy shoots.
The showy yellow-green parts are bracts, not petals. Each small cup contains highly reduced flowers: male flowers are individual stamens, and a central female flower can develop into a three-lobed capsule. Nectar glands occur around the cup’s rim.
Milky sap can irritate skin and eyes; avoid breaking stems or handling the sap. Underground growth and root fragments help this introduced plant spread, so it is unsuitable for planting near natural areas.
Explore more species in the guide, then practice recognizing wildflowers in the quiz.
