Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses

SIX-ANGLED SPURGE

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Euphorbia hexagona Nutt. ex Spreng.

Russell County, Kansas

Annual

Height: 8-32 inches

Family: Euphorbiaceae - Spurge Family

Flowering Period: July, August, September

Also Called:

Six-angle euphorbia, green spurge.

Stems:

Erect, delicate, yellowish-green, single from base, branching in opposite pairs alternating at right angles; branches ascending, very slender, minutely and sparsely pubescent.

Leaves:

Opposite, linear to narrowly elliptic or oblong, 2/5 to 2.8 inches long, 1/25 to 1/6 inch wide, spreading, glabrous to scantily pubescent, tapered at both ends; margins entire; tip sharply pointed; stalk 1/25 to 1/8 inch long; branch leaves shorter, narrower.

Inflorescences:

Receptacles, solitary in upper leaf axils and branch forks, cup-like, tiny, 1/16 to 1/12 inch long, minutely pubescent; stalk very short; glands with petal-like appendages erect on rim of receptacle, 5, inconspicuous, 1/50 inch or less, fleshy, greenish-white.

Flowers:

Staminate flowers 20-40 per receptacle; pistillate flower 1; sepals and petals absent; staminate flowers each single stamens; pistil stalk elongates with maturity.

Fruits:

Capsule, 3-lobed, 1/8 to 1/5 inch long; seeds 3, egg-shaped to oblong, 1/10 to 1/8 inch long, rough, whitish, brown or nearly black.

Habitat:

Dry disturbed sites, open waste areas, prairies, roadsides, dunes, stream banks; loose, sandy soils.

Distribution:

All but southeast corner of Kansas.

Origin:

Native

Comments:

Six-angled is not considered a problem weed.

Six-angled spurge