Pronounciation: U-FOR-bee-a re-sin-i-FER-a

Hardiness zones
Sunset 13-24
USDA 9-11

Landscape Use: Xeric textural accent sub-shrub often used as a specimen, containers.

Form & Character: Dense, stiff, a mound of chubby columnar stems, spikey, interesting, care free, dry.

Growth Habit: Evergreen, succulent perennial, slow growing to 2- to 2.5-feet tall, acaulescent, forming multi-stemmed cushion-shaped clumps up to 5-feet wide.

Foliage/Texture: Generally leafless, stems photosynthetic, dull green to glaucous, four sided, stem ridges armed with short white spines; medium coarse texture.

Flowers & Fruits: The flowers are small, simple, and bright yellow, and the fruit a small capsule with one seed in each cell. Flowering is rare out of its native range, but did happen in Phoenix in May of 2019 after the amazingly colder and wetter winter of 2018/19.

Seasonal Color: None

Temperature: Tolerant of Phoenix weather conditions.

Light: Partial to full sun.

Soil: Very tolerant of alkaline and saline soils; however, soils must be well drained!

Watering: Little to no additional water is needed during most of the year. Supplemental water is needed only during the hottest months of the summer.

Pruning: None!!

Propagation: Stem cuttings (resin spurge branches profusely and stem segments are readily available). Allow stem segments (propagules) to dry for a week before planting so the wound can seal. Unsealed cuttings, planted too soon, will easily rot before they can grow roots. Before drying, I recommend washing the stem segment to remove the latex.

Disease and Pests: None.

Additional comments: Resin spurge makes a nice and tidy succulent-like subshrub for xeric landscapes or patio containers. It is low maintenance, clean and care free......but it does have a dark side......

Toxicity Warning: Resin euphorbia emits a thick white milky sap known as latex when stems are cut or damaged. This latex (resin) is poisonous containing some of the most potent irritants known. The chief toxic constituents of the latex is resin, and is known to contain wax, calcium malate, euphorbone, euphorbo-resene, euphorbic acid, potassium malate, lignin, bassorin, volatile oil, and water, with no soluble gums. The latex is particularly dangerous for the eyes, skin and mucous membranes and will produce burning pain in bones and limbs and paralytic weakness in the joints. Also, resin spurge will produce respiratory and skin toxicity symptoms. Handle cultivated plants carefully, wear gloves, and use extreme caution to NOT get any of the 'latex goo' in your eyes or mouth (avoid rubbing your eyes and wash your hands after handling). The acrid resin is soluble in alcohol, and will burn brilliantly, becoming very aromatic. In the past, many local cultures have used resin spurge as a biomedicine in weird ways.