Leafy Spurge

Keep an eye out, Neighbours!

Our front yard grew a surprise this spring. Native to Europe, it’s believed Leafy Spurge (Euphorbia esula) was transported to Canada in the early 19th century and made its way to the Prairies during the 1930s. Alberta first recorded it in 1933 and Saskatchewan, shortly thereafter.

It’s a pretty plant. Stems are arranged in clumps that hold smooth-edged blue-green leaves that attach directly to the stem. In late summer they turn yellow or orange-red. Stems are topped with small yellow blooms that have no petals or sepals and are supported by two leafy bracts. It’s reddish coloured roots creep, much like that purple creeping bellflower many know too well!

Needless to say, it spreads easily. And as the plant dries its umbrella-like clusters of yellow flowers explode and spread seeds as far as five metres (six yards) in all directions. The seeds can remain dormant for up to eight years! We believe the new soil we brought into that bed held one such seed. Sask Agriculture estimates that more than 20,000 acres (8,000 hectares) have been infested province-wide.

As such, it’s considered a severe perennial weed under the Noxious Weed Act, which states that “every owner or occupant of land shall contain and control noxious weeds on his [sic] land and prevent the spread of noxious weeds to other lands.”

In addition to it being invasive and able to take over large areas, Leafy Spurge can be an irritant to animals and to humans. Its flowers and the milky substance within the plant can cause rashes or other skin irritations.

After identifying it, we dug it out and placed it in the garbage bin, not the green bin. Better safe than sorry.

Information gleaned from:
Nature Conservancy Canada (Leafy Spurge)
Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture (Leafy Spurge .pdf to learn more)

Bernadette Wagner is a poet and essayist who’s lived [next door] in the Cathedral Village for almost 40 years
and had never seen Leafy Spurge before June 2024.