Leafy Spurge

Leafy Spurge

Euphorbia esula 

Colorado List B

Information Sheet (PDF)

Eradication Zone Map (pdf)

General

• Contains toxins that may displace other plants
• Deep-rooted, long-lived perennial
• Extremely difficult to control
• Family: Euphorbiaceae (Spurge)
• Native Range: Europe and Asia

Habitat

• Displaces native vegetation
• Found in disturbed sites, meadows, pastures, abandoned fields and roadside areas between 5,000 and 6,000 feet
• Found in hot and cold climates
• Prefers dry locations but can tolerate moisture
• Will grow in many soil types

Plant

Vegetation

• Contains a milky latex sap
• Grows in dense patches
• Leaves are 1/4 to 1/2 inch wide and 1 to 4 inches long
• Mature plants are 1 1/2 to 3 1/2 feet tall
• Shoots develop from numerous stem and root buds and from seed
• Stems are light green, hairless and turn reddish in the fall

Roots

• Contain large food reserves
• Plants will regrow after grazing or mechanical treatments
• Vertical and horizontal
• Vertical roots grow to depths of 30 feet; horizontal roots may grow 15 feet per year
• Withstand periods of drought, grazing and herbicides

Flower

• Color: yellowish-green
• Dried seed pods explode and expel seeds up to 15 feet
• Enclosed in two, heart-shaped bracts (modified leaves)
• Flowers produce seed 45 to 55 days after bolting
• Season: April to May but may continue until fall
• Seeds are dispersed 4 to 6 weeks after flowering

Seed

• Can remain viable for 8 or more years
• Each stalk can produce 140 to 250 seeds

Seedling

• Can produce roots 3 feet deep and spread 40 inches laterally in 4 months
• Germinates in early spring; peak germination is in May
• Produces vegetative buds 10 to 12 days after germination
• Rarely flowers the first year

Reproduction

• Can reproduce from root fragments 1/2 inch long
• Seed and vegetative

Control

Biological - In Containment Zone ONLY

• Aphthona spp., flea beetles
• Hyles euphorbiae, Leafy spurge hawkmoth
• Oberea erythrocephala, Red-headed Leafy spurge stem borer
• Spurgia esulae, Leafy spurge tip gall midge
• Works best as part of a IPM plan (May to August)

Chemical

• View Information Sheet (PDF)

Cultural

• Intensive tilling
• Prevention – maintain health of site
• Promotion of healthy grass
• Removal - not effective unless done within first year of growth and before seeds form
• Reseeding

Mechanical

• Burning - Ineffective if used alone.  May provide uniform regrowth for  more effective herbicide treatment.  May allow grasses to germinate and  provide competition
• Grazing - Goats and sheep – short-term, intensive grazing is most  successful; must be repeated as plant regrow.  Cattle will not graze;  causes lesions around the eyes and mouth; irritates the digestive tract
• Mowing - Ineffective if used alone.  May provide regrowth for more  effective herbicide treatment.  May allow grasses to germinate and  provide competition

More Information

• Colorado State University Extension

Use all chemicals according to the manufacturer's label. No specific recommendation or endorsement is made or implied by listing methods or products.