Cypress Spurge
Cypress Spurge spreading on Ham Hill, Somerset
Close-up of a clump
Close-up of flowers and rays of umbel
Deltoid partial bracts and short-horned lunate glands
Linear leaves
Wider leaves on stem
Euphorbia cyparissius
Euphorbiaceae
April to July
It is scattered throughout the country but is most common
in the South and East Anglia.
See the BSBI distribution map for Cypress Spurge
It is a neophyte, which was introduced into the UK in
the 1640s and had escaped into the wild by around 1800.
It is widely naturalised in calcareous grassland, scrub,
on waste land and by roads and tracks.
Cypress Spurge is a rhizomatous, patch-forming,
perennial herb growing up to 30cm.
Flowers are bright yellow and numerous on umbels
with up to 15 rays.
The partial bracts are deltoid or kidney-shaped.
Glands are lunate with short horns.
Leaves are linear and numerous.
On the main stems they are longer and more blunt.
In the US it is classed as an invasive alien and
noxious weed.
Cypress Spurge spreading on Ham Hill, Somerset
Close-up of a clump
Close-up of flowers and rays of umbel
Deltoid partial bracts and short-horned lunate glands
Linear leaves
Wider leaves on stem
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