About Euphorbia esula subsp. esula
Euphorbia esula subsp. esula is a herbaceous perennial plant. It grows 1 to 1.2 meters tall, and produces multiple stems that branch from its base. The stems are smooth, and can be hairless or slightly hairy. Its leaves are small and lanceolate, measuring 4 to 8.5 cm long and up to 1 cm wide, with a slightly wavy margin. The plant produces small flowers arranged in umbels, which have a basal pair of bright yellow-green, petal-like bracts. Clusters of these bracts appear in late spring, while the actual flowers do not develop until early summer. All parts of this plant contain a toxic white milky sap. This plant reproduces easily from seeds: the seeds have a high germination rate, and can remain viable in soil for at least eight years. Seed capsules open explosively to disperse seeds up to 5 meters away from the parent plant, and seeds can be carried further by water and wildlife. Leafy spurge also spreads vegetatively through its complex root system: this root system is reported to reach 8 meters deep and 5 meters across, and can produce numerous buds. Euphorbia esula contains two subspecies and one hybrid nothosubspecies. Euphorbia esula subsp. esula has leaves that are broadest near the apex, and umbel bracts measuring 5–15 mm; it grows throughout the full range of the species. Euphorbia esula subsp. tommasiniana (Bertol.) Kuzmanov, with synonyms E. waldsteinii (Sojak) A.R.Smith and E. virgata Waldst. & Kit., has leaves that are broadest at the middle, and umbel bracts measuring 12–35 mm; it is found in eastern Europe and western Asia. Euphorbia esula nothosubsp. pseudovirgata (Schur) Govaerts is the hybrid between the two above subspecies.
