Euphorbia cyparissias (Cypress Spurge): Minnesota Wildflowers

Euphorbia cyparissias (Cypress Spurge)

Plant Info
Also known as:	Graveyard-weed
Genus:	Euphorbia
Family:	Euphorbiaceae (Spurge)
Life cycle:	perennial
Origin:	Europe
Habitat:	part shade, sun; fields, open woods, roadsides, waste areas, disturbed soil
Bloom season:	May - August
Plant height:	6 to 12 inches
USDA PLANTS database:	Minnesota county distribution map
Spotted in Ramsey County at:	Battle Creek Regional Park Long Lake Regional Park Rice Creek Trail Corridor Vadnais/Snail Lake Regional Park

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Detailed Information

Flower:

Flowers are in a convex to round cluster of 10 or more flowers at the top of the stem, smaller clusters may arise from branches near the top of the plant. Individual flowers have a pair of ¼-inch round to heart-shaped, green to yellowish bracts that may look like petals. In the center are 4 tiny flat glands with a pointed projection on each end, somewhat horn-like. Under the glands are the globular ovaries. The glands are greenish to yellowish to orangeish; the ovaries are green.

Leaves and stem:

Leaves are very narrow, to 1½ inches long and 1/8 inch wide with no leaf stalk. They are initially densely packed on the stem but spread out as the plant matures; a young plant resembles a small pine or spruce tree. Attachment is alternate but may look whorled or opposite due to crowding. Color is dark green to bluish green. Leaves and stems are hairless. A plant may have multiple stems.

Fruit:

Fruit is a 3 sectioned capsule, about 1/8-inch across, each section containing 1 seed.

Notes:

Cypress Spurge is very similar to Leafy Spurge (Euphorbia esula) but is generally a smaller plant, has narrower leaves, and blooms earlier than Leafy Spurge. Like Leafy Spurge, it can form large colonies and is becoming a quite common weed.

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More photos

Photos by K. Chayka taken at Long Lake Regional Park, New Brighton, MN June 2009 and April 2010. Other photos courtesy Peter M. Dziuk.

Comments

Have you seen this plant in Minnesota, or have any other comments about it?

Posted by: Kara in Eastern Scott County - Credit River Township
on: 2010-05-23 11:59:23

I discovered this plant in my woodland edge this spring. Haven't seen it before. I have just a few plants but after reading this will be pulling it.

Posted by: James in Dakota
on: 2011-06-10 23:55:36

Had this in my garden for at least 10 years. It's in part shade spot, mesic soil. The "colony" is small and hasn't spread one bit in all this time. I don't see the point in removing it since it's not at all aggressive here. (Am removing the garlic mustard though!)

Posted by: Mary Kay in Virginia, MN
on: 2011-07-28 08:47:23

I have had this in my garden for several years. It was given to me by the tender of our town's community garden, who was thinning her patch. It spreads a lot, and I have shared it with friends, as I have thinned it. It's lovely, and I am very fond of it. I have had no trouble controlling it, simply by thinning it annually.

Posted by: K. Chayka
on: 2011-07-28 09:17:22

I just want to ask gardeners, who cultivate weeds like Cypress spurge, if your control measures extend to the roadsides and woodland edges where this species transplants itself? If not, then I think your vision is too narrowly focused on your own garden and the belief that you can keep an invasive species confined. Plants spread by wind, water and critters, over which you have no control. While not as serious a problem as its cousin leafy spurge, Cypress spurge is still a plant I find in far too many natural areas where it does not belong. I ask that you look beyond your own yard to the bigger picture.

Posted by: Penny in SE minneapolis - Longfellow region
on: 2011-07-30 14:01:23

my neighbor at the end of the street has a huge patch in the front yard and now i am seeing it in my yard - didn't know it to be characterized as noxious. Should I eradicate then? Is it beneficial to wildlife in anyway or more damaging? Thanks

Posted by: K. Chayka
on: 2011-07-30 19:30:59

I have not read anything that indicates Cypress spurge has any benefit whatsoever to wildlife. It is well documented, however, that bruised or broken stems exude a milky sap that is irritating to the skin and especially the eyes. I wouldn't want it in my yard. It is as weedy as a dandelion.