Euphorbiaceae
Euphorbia

Euphorbia stricta L.

First published in Syst. Nat., ed. 10. 2: 1049 (1759)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Europe to N. Iran. It is an annual and grows primarily in the temperate biome.

Descriptions

Kew Species Profiles

General Description
The upright spurge is an annual herb, widespread throughout Europe but uncommon in the UK where it is found mainly in a small area around Gloucester.

Euphorbia stricta is an annual herb with a milky latex, widespread throughout Europe but uncommon in the UK except in a small area around Gloucester. Because of this it is sometimes known as Tintern spurge. It may also be found listed under the name Euphorbia serrulata. The plant is cultivated only occasionally, but spreads rapidly.

Species Profile
Geography and distribution

The upright spurge is found throughout southern Europe, reaching as far north as the southern parts of UK, The Netherlands and Poland and as far east as the Caucasus. It also has become naturalised in New Zealand.

Description

Overview:  Euphorbia stricta is an annual herb growing to 1 m, always glabrous. Stems are often reddish with typically four to five axillary rays in the upper part.

Leaves:  Leaves are oblong-lanceolate, finely toothed and subsessile.

Flowers:  Flowers are in small groups consisting of a solitary female and several males surrounded by nectar-gland bearing involucral bracts which form a cup. The male flower consists of a single naked stamen on its own pedicel (so that it looks like a jointed filament). The female flower consists of a trilocular (3-valved) naked ovary, on a pedicel which usually elongates in fruit.

Fruits:  The fruit is a 3-lobed dehiscent capsule, up to 2.5 mm in diameter and is covered in cylindrical warts or tubercles. The seeds are smooth and reddish-brown.

Uses

Can be grown as an ornamental herbaceous perennial or rock garden plant.

Ecology
Roadsides, beside streams and ditches, in moist grassy areas, amongst rocks in limestone and sandstone areas. From sea level to 1200 m.
Conservation
Independently assessed as of Least Concern (LC) according to IUCN criteria.
Hazards

Latex may severely irritate the skin causing acute dermatitis, and is poisonous if consumed. Contact with the eyes should be avoided. Seeds may have drastic purgative action.

[KSP]

Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592

Conservation
Predicted extinction risk: not threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

Uses

Use
Ornamental.
[KSP]

Common Names

English
Upright spurge

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Species Profiles

    • Kew Species Profiles
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0