Cypress spurge

Cypress spurge (lat. Euphórbia cyparissias) — a perennial herbaceous plant; a species of the genus Euphorbia (Euphorbia) of the family Euphorbiaceae (Euphorbiaceae).

Native range: Europe; territory of the former USSR; Asia: Turkey; has spread widely as an introduced species. Grows in pine forests, on slopes, hills, fallow land, fields, waste places and sandy soils.

Perennial plant 15—30 cm tall, glabrous or less often slightly hairy, grayish-green. Root cylindrical, creeping, branched. Stems mostly numerous, erect, 15—24 cm tall, strongly branched at the base, above with 1—12 axillary flowering shoots. Basal leaves scale-like, stem leaves almost sessile, narrowly linear, membranous, dull, with a single vein, often slightly curved, numerous on non-flowering branches.

Flowers fragrant, involucre bracts yellowish with a purplish tint. Blooms in May–June, with a secondary flowering in autumn. Fruit — truncate-ovoid three-lobed capsule, about 3 mm long.

Location: grows well in open or slightly shaded sites. If planted in a shady place, many offsets will appear, but flowering will be poor.

Care: The plant is undemanding and requires no special care; be cautious when handling, the plant is poisonous, wear gloves! In late autumn it is necessary to cut off dry shoots.

Propagation: by sowing seeds in autumn into the ground or vegetatively.