Leafy Spurge

Euphorbia esula L.

Euphorbiaceae (Spurge Family)

▲ young shoots

▲ ▼ flowering shoots

▲ flowering plant

▲ colony of flowering plants

Leafy Spurge:  

·        invasive, creeping-perennial weed, with a deep-growing, almost woody, creeping root system

·        has 1-3’ tall stems covered with many 1-2” long, narrow leaves

·        slender, slightly branched stems often form a large, moderately dense colony

·        flowers are greenish-yellow in clusters at the tip of stems

·        more common in the northern and western U.S.—found in northwest Missouri, but not much in southwest Missouri (yet)

·        found in pastures, rangeland, roadsides, cultivated fields, non-crop areas

·        requires a translocated herbicide for best control