# wood spurge (*Euphorbia amygdaloides*)

Wood spurge is a cheerful green plant with bright yellow flowers. It grows in gardens and woodlands, and it can be a fun surprise to find while exploring nature!

- **Category:** [Plants](https://www.snappit.app/explore/categories/plant)
- **Rarity:** Common
- **Danger:** 2/5 · Low
- **Habitat:** Woodlands

![wood spurge](https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Redirect/file/Euphorbia_amygdaloides_4_RF.jpg&width=800)

Photo: Robert Flogaus-Faust, CC BY 4.0 · [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Euphorbia_amygdaloides_4_RF.jpg)

## Appearance

The wood spurge has distinctive lime-green to yellow-green bracts surrounding its tiny true flowers, forming a bright cup-shaped structure. Its upright stems are often reddish, contrasting with the dark green, spoon-shaped leaves arranged in rosettes.

## Taxonomy

- **Kingdom:** Plantae
- **Phylum:** Tracheophyta
- **Class:** Magnoliopsida
- **Order:** Malpighiales
- **Family:** Euphorbiaceae
- **Genus:** Euphorbia

## Interesting facts

- Each tiny flower is actually a complex structure with male and female parts in one!
- Its sap, called latex, was once used as a traditional wart remover!
- Some insects, like the Spurge Hawk-moth, are immune to its toxic sap!
- This plant can bloom even in deep shade, brightening up forest floors!

## Special abilities

- **Sap Shield:** Wood spurge has a milky, sticky sap that acts like a protective shield, irritating predators who try to eat it.
- **Sun Tracker:** Its leaves can subtly turn to follow the sun, helping it soak up maximum energy for growth.
- **Seed Flinger:** Wood spurge can forcibly fling its seeds away, launching them far from the parent plant to find new homes.
- **Ant Ally:** Wood spurge has special fatty parts on its seeds that attract ants for dispersal.

## Measurements & details

- **Height:** 30-80 cm
- **Spread:** 30-60 cm
- **Flower Size:** 1-2 cm
- **Bloom Season:** Spring
- **Edible:** No
- **Toxicity:** Moderate
- **Lifecycle:** Perennial
- **Pollination Method:** Insect

## Ecological connections

- **Eats:** Spurge Hawk-moth (*Hyles euphorbiae*) — Larvae specialize on spurge leaves, tolerating its toxic sap.
- **Symbiotic with:** Red wood ant (*Formica rufa*) — Disperses its seeds, attracted by a fatty elaiosome.

## Traits

- [Flowering](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/flowering): Flowering plants are any plants that produce flowers as part of their reproductive cycle.
- [Ornamental](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/ornamental): Ornamental plants are cultivated primarily for their aesthetic appeal, enhancing landscapes and gardens with their attractive foliage, flowers, or form.
- [Shade Tolerant](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/shade-tolerant): Shade tolerant plants are adapted to grow and thrive in areas with low light levels, requiring less direct sunlight.
- [Evergreen](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/evergreen): Evergreen plants retain their foliage throughout the year, never shedding all their leaves at once.
- [Medicinal](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/medicinal): Medicinal plants possess chemical compounds that can be used for therapeutic purposes to treat illnesses or maintain health.
- [Pollinator Magnet](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/pollinator-magnet): Describes plants that are particularly attractive and beneficial to a wide range of pollinating organisms.
- [Forest](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/forest): Forest habitats are terrestrial environments dominated by dense tree cover, supporting a high diversity of plant and animal life.

## Collections

- [Plants](https://www.snappit.app/explore/collections/plants)

## Safety

**Danger:** 2/5 · Low

Do not touch the sap, as it can irritate your skin. Always explore plants with an adult!

## Frequently Asked Questions

### How to identify wood spurge?

Start with the whole plant, then compare leaf arrangement, leaf edges, stems and any flowers or fruit. Opposite leaves grow in pairs; alternate leaves come one at a time along the stem. These details tell you far more together than a single green leaf does. Plant Identifier: upload a photo and compare the visible details.

### How tall is wood spurge?

30-80 cm

### How wide does wood spurge spread?

30-60 cm

### How big are the flowers on wood spurge?

1-2 cm

### When does wood spurge bloom?

Spring

### Is wood spurge edible?

No

### Is wood spurge toxic?

Moderate

### What is wood spurge's lifecycle?

Perennial

## More Plants

- [white snakeroot](https://www.snappit.app/explore/white-snakeroot) (*Ageratina altissima*)
- [tree-of-heaven](https://www.snappit.app/explore/tree-of-heaven) (*Ailanthus altissima*)
- [western sword fern](https://www.snappit.app/explore/western-sword-fern) (*Polystichum munitum*)
- [common milkweed](https://www.snappit.app/explore/common-milkweed) (*Asclepias syriaca*)

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Source: [Wood Spurge: Facts & Places to See — Snappit](https://www.snappit.app/explore/wood-spurge)