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Plant Profile  
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Common Name: Snow-on-the-mountain

Species Name: Euphorbia marginata

Family Name: Euphorbiaceae

 

 

 

 

Plant Facts  
Origin North America
Sun Preference Full aun
Susceptibility None Serious
Duration Annual
Distribution in the U.S. Montana and Minnesota south to Texas and New Mexico
Distribution in Oklahoma Throughout the state

 

 

ID Characteristics

  • Field Identification Characteristics

    Vegetative

    • Leaf bottoms and stems are fuzzy
    • Milky sap inside stems
    • Leaves alternate along stem and attach directly (no petiole)
    • Leaves are simple and edges are smooth
    • Single stem below with branching above

    Floral

    • “Petals” (bracts) have white edges, appear striped
    • Branching at top is always in threes
  • Leaf and Stem Characteristics
    • Plant Height: 2-foot diameter, 3-foot height
    • Leaf Type: Simple
    • Leaf Arrangement: Alternate but whorled at origin of branches
    • Leaf Shape: Oblong or ovate or elliptical
    • Stipules: Absent
  • Floral Characteristics
    • Petal Number: Absent
    • Flower Timing: July-October
    • Fruit Type: Capsular schizocarps

 

 

Habitat/Ecology  
Habitat Recent disturbances such as construction sites, in waste areas and in overgrazed pastures
Soil Preference Clay; native to dry prairies, upland fields, and pastures
Successional Stage Early
Notes This plant is gaining popularity as a cultivated garden plant; milky sap can be a skin irritant

 

 

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