WILDFLOWERS OF NEW MEXICO

The leaves on this robust, 1–3-foot tall plant do a switcheroo from green at the bottom to two-tone at the top. The hairy stem divides into three branches which continue dividing in sets of three. Note the broad, oval leaves and green-and-white bracts around the flower cluster. All Euphorbias contain a toxic, milky latex sap that can cause dermatitis.

FLOWER: July–October. Rounded clusters bloom on the tips of stems. Tiny flowers have five white, petal-like appendages on the rim of a 1/4-inch (6–7 mm) cup-like structure containing the tiny true flowers; male and female flowers are separate. A hairy, green, three-sided capsule forms on a short, nodding stalk in the center of the female flower. The mature, dried capsule pops open and shoots the seeds several feet. Bi-colored leaf-like bracts below the flowers and may be opposite or whorled.

LEAVES: Alternate. Blades oblong, 1–3-inches long (2.5-7.5 cm), nearly hairless near the base while narrower leaves with white margins upward on stem and branches; leaves whorled around the branching nodes, and opposite  and bicolored on upper branches. Bi-colored leaf-like bracts cluster around the flowering tips.

HABITAT: Sandy, rocky limestone soils, pastures, disturbed areas; grasslands, prairies.

ELEVATION: 3,700–6,200 feet.

RANGE: CO, KA, MO, MT, ND, NE, NM, OK, SD, TX, WY; scattered eastern U. S.

SIMILAR SPECIES: The white-marginated leaves, tall stem, and branching sequence identify this plant.

NM COUNTIES: Common in eastern plains and scattered elsewhere in low- to mid-elevation habitats: Catron, Chaves, Colfax, Curry, De Baca, Grant, Guadalupe, Harding, Mora, Quay, Rio Arriba, Roosevelt, San Juan, San Miguel, Union.