CYPRESS SPURGE, Euphorbia
cyparissias L. 1, plants arising from old stems and creeping
rootstocks; 2, inflorescence; 3, seed; 4, leaf and
portion of stem; 5, entire plant. Perennial, usually reproducing
by creeping rootstocks but occasionally by seeds. Stems in tufts,
forming dense mats if not disturbed, usually not exceeding 1 foot (30 cm)
in height, somewhat branched, smooth, very leafy, with milky juice. Leaves
oblong, narrow, smooth, alternate, pale green. Flowers small, greenish,
having petals fused in the form of a cup; growing in axils of a terminal
whorl of yellowish floral bracts that turn purplish at maturity. Seed
pods on short stalk from the cuplike base, smooth, waxy, 3-lobed
with 3 seeds. Seeds brownish-gray, smooth. Found in pastures,
roadsides, and waste places. Often spreads from gardens where it is used
as an ornamental.