Cypress spurge
Prepared by Jennifer L. D’Appollonio, Assistant Scientist, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469. Updated February 2018.
Scientific name: Euphorbia cyparissias L.
Common name(s): cypress spurge, Bonaparte’s crown, graveyard moss, graveyard weed
Links: USDA PLANTS Profile, Go Botany
Images: (to see enlargements [PC]: click on image, then right click and choose “view image”)
-
- early May
-
- leaf detail
-
- flowerheads
-
- flowers have petal-like bracts
-
- flowers mature to red/purple
Description:
– perennial
-herbaceous
-leaves are
- simple
- alternate
- entire
-can form a bushy ground cover
-can grow to 2-2.5 feet in height
– may be confused with E. esula; see left sidebar of Go Botany webpage
Habitat:
-disturbed sites
-meadows
fields
Natural History:
-native to Europe
-introduced to North American in the 2800s for ornamental use
-European flea beetles were introduced to control this species
Sources:
Go Botany. “Euphorbia Cyparissias L.” Euphorbia Cyparissias (Cypress Spurge): Go Botany, 2021, gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/euphorbia/cyparissias/.