Duration: Annual

Nativity: Native

Lifeform: Forb/Herb

General: Simply branching, erect or ascending annual forb to 60 cm tall, stems strigose with gland-like stipules.

Leaves: Mostly opposite, (lower ones sometimes alternate), lanceolate to oblanceolate, 3-7 cm long, margins entire or shallowly toothed.

Flowers: Monoecious flowers borne in cup-shaped bracts (cyathia), clustered at branch tips, with white petaloid appendages.

Fruits: Ovaries pubescent, capsules strigose, seeds sharply quadrangular.

Ecology: Found on dry sites from 3,000-8,000 ft (914-2438 m); flowers August-October.

Notes: The keys to this species are the linear to lanceolate leaves, with slightly toothed or entire margins, and the sharply quadrangular seeds.

Ethnobotany: This plant was taken by mothers to induce milk production.

Etymology: Euphorbia is named for Euphorbus, Greek physician of Juba II, King of Mauretania.

Synonyms: Euphorbia dentata fo. cuphosperma, Euphorbia dentata var. cuphosperma, Poinsettia cuphosperma

Editor: LCrumbacher, 2011