Weed of the Month: Euphorbia cyathophora (Painted Spurge)

It’s no secret that Christmas is around the corner, and some of you may be giving the wonderful gift of plants! In fact it’s almost become a Christmas tradition for garden centres all over the country to put pretty bows on Poinsettias in decorative pots due to their bright green and red foliage.

Did you know however, that they are actually a decorative weed from the Euphorbia or spurge family?

The Poinsettia you will find in garden centres, is known as “Euphorbia pulcherrima,” and as pretty as it is, it is just as deadly and irritating as it’s wild cousin ‘Euphorbia cyathophora,’ more commonly known as Painted Spurge as featured below.

Neither plant is to be toyed with due to having a toxic white, milky sap which is not only deadly poisonous but is also severely irritating to the skin and eyes. These plants need to be handled with the utmost care and kept away from pets and young children.

While ‘Euphorbia pulcherrima’ (in the photo below) can be kept in a pot or planted in the garden, ‘Euphorbia cyathophora’ on the other hand can cause great problems in the wild. Classified as one of the Top 200 weeds for South East Queensland and North East New South Wales, due to it’s easy dispersion of seeds and is particularly problematic in riparian and hind-dune areas, which if unchecked ultimately changes the structure of the dunes by displacing native vegetation . Most spurge will also spread by underground rhizomes which create dense mats of foliage.

There is also, a native Spurge – ‘Euphorbia tannensis’ or Desert Spurge which while just as toxic, is very different in terms of structure and appearance and isn’t considered a pest in most council areas, as a rule of ‘green’ thumb however, always check with your council before planting anything from the ‘Euphorbia’ (or ‘Spurge’) family of plants. To know more on how to identify ‘Euphorbia tannensis’ be sure to check out this link to the Australian Museum, Lizard Island Field Guide.

Image Credits:

Variations of Euphorbia cyathophora (Painted Spurge) – Images Left to Right:
Pink: By Forest & Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6171297
Wide Shot, Banner & Graphic: By Sansumaria – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=116074993
Red: By Juni from Kyoto, Japan – Flickr, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=348280

Euphorbia pulcherrima (common Christmas Poinsettia)
By Vinayaraj – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27698422

In the meantime, be sure to check out all of Brooke’s other Featured Weeds via the links and slideshow below:

Impatiens Spp. (Busy Lizzie, Balsam)	Ardisia crenata (Christmas Berry)	Cinnamomum camphora (Camphor Laurel)
Thunbergia plata  (Black-eyed Susan)	Dolichandra ungues-cacti (Cats Claw Creeper)	Lantana camara (Lantana)
Bryophyllum delangoense (Mother of Millions)	Asparagus aethiopicus ‘Spengeri’ (Ground Asparagus Fern)	Asparagus aethiopicus (Climbing Asparagus Fern)
Sphagneticola trilobata (Singapore Daisy)	Salvina molesta (Salvinia)	Anredera cordifoli (Madeira Vine)
Araujia sericifera (Moth Vine)	Aristolochia elegans (Dutchman’s Pipe)	Senna pendula var glabrata (Easter Cassia)
Ipomoea circa (Coastal Morning Glory)	Vigna luteola (Dalrymple Vigna)	Bacharis halimifolia (Groundsel Bush)
Solanum chrysotrichum (Giant Devil’s Fig)	Passiflora suberosa  (Corky Passionfruit Vine)	Macroptilium atropurpureum (Siratro)
Neonotonia wightii  (Glycine vine)	Solanum mauritianum Wild Tobacco Tree