Euphorbia lathyris Calflora

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Taxon Report

Euphorbia lathyris L.

Compass plant, Gopher plant, Moleplant

Euphorbia lathyris is an annual or perennial herb that is not native to California.

There is a high risk of this plant becoming invasive in California according to Cal-IPC.


	Plant Range Observation Search ~590 records in California Plant Characteristics one or more occurrences within a 7.5-minute quadrangle

Bloom Period

Photos on Calflora


Genus:	Euphorbia
Family:	Euphorbiaceae
Category:	angiosperm
PLANTS group:	Dicot
Jepson eFlora section: eudicot

Toxicity: Skin irritation from touching the sap of this plant.

Habitat: disturbed

Communities: weed, characteristic of disturbed places

Name Status:
Accepted by JEF + PLANTS

Alternate Names:


PLANTS	Euphorbia lathyrus
PLANTS	Galarhoeus lathyris
PLANTS	Tithymalus lathyris
POWO	Euphorbia fischeriana

Information about Euphorbia lathyris from other sources


Jepson eFlora USDA PLANTS Profile (EULA4) Photos on Calflora Photos on CalPhotos Google Images Photos on iNaturalist	ITIS Original Publication citation International Plants Names Index Search efloras.org (Flora of North America) BONAP Distribution Map Cal-IPC Profile rating: watch (high risk) Consortium of California Herbaria 2	Add an Observation Location Suitability Distribution by County
[Wikipedia] Southern Europe, northwest Africa, and eastward through southwes: Euphorbia lathyris, the caper spurge or paper spurge, is a species of spurge native to southern Europe (Italy, Greece, Spain, Portugal), northwest Africa, and eastward through southwest Asia to western China. (link added by Mary Ann Machi) [pfaf.org] Toxicity: The sap contains a latex which is toxic on ingestion and highly irritant externally, causing photosensitive skin reactions and severe inflammation, especially on contact with eyes or open cuts. The toxicity can remain high even in dried plant material[200]. Prolonged and regular contact with the sap is inadvisable because of its carcinogenic nature[214]. The seed is also poisonous[76]. (link added by Mary Ann Machi) photos / record / common / links

Suggested Citation

Calflora: Information on California plants for education, research and conservation, with data contributed by public and private institutions and individuals. [web application]. 2025. The Calflora Database [a non-profit organization]. Available: https://www.calflora.org/ (Accessed: 03/28/2025).