Cypress spurge or Sun spurge: how to tell them apart?
Cypress spurge and Sun spurge look alike and are often mixed up. Here is how to tell them apart, feature by feature, with their photos and the details to look for.
⚡ The quick answer
Cypress spurge
Euphorbia cyparissias
Sun spurge
Euphorbia helioscopia
Sun spurge has broad oval leaves and a clearly visible 5-rayed umbel silhouette, whereas cypress spurge has fine, dense foliage reminiscent of a small conifer.
🍃 Leaves
Very narrow and numerous, like the sprigs of a cypress
Oval, finely toothed towards the tip, arranged in a rosette beneath the inflorescence
🌸 Flowers
Small, yellow-green, surrounded by cup-shaped bracts characteristic of spurges
Small, yellow-green, grouped in a terminal 5-branched umbel, each flower actually a cyathium (a cup-shaped inflorescence typical of spurges) surrounded by bracts.
🍎 Fruits
Small three-lobed capsules
Small three-lobed capsule
🪵 Bark
Erect herbaceous stem, irritant milky sap
Erect herbaceous stem, irritant milky sap
📏 Size
15 to 40 cm tall
10 to 50 cm
🗺️ Habitat
Dry banks, grassland, trackside verges
Gardens, crops, wasteland
⚠️ Toxicity
Sap (latex) irritant to the skin and eyes, toxic if ingested; to be handled with care.
White latex irritant to the skin and mucous membranes, toxic if ingested (digestive upset)
🔎 And from the Sun spurge side
Sun spurge has broad oval leaves and a clearly visible 5-rayed umbel silhouette, whereas cypress spurge has fine, dense foliage reminiscent of a small conifer.
🌿 Go further
Want to practise spotting these details on real photos? Floraneo offers profiles and quizzes for dozens of look-alike species.
ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.