Spurge, Portland

Information on Portland Spurge

Common Name: Portland Spurge
Scientific Name: Euphorbia portlandica
Irish Name: Spuirse ghainimh
Family Group: Euphorbiaceae
Distribution: View Map (Courtesy of the BSBI)
Flowering Period


Click for list of all flowering by month
Portland Spurge could sometimes be confused with:

Spurge, Sea,

This is a short little perennial which is found on sandy sea-shores and cliffs.  Its little flowers are, like others of this family, without petals or sepals, having yellowish-green bracts and long horned glands.  The leathery, oval leaves are hairless with a prominent midrib below. It flowers from April to September in coastal areas, is a native plant and belongs to the family Euphorbiaceae.  

Roy Watson of the Wexford Naturalists Field Club kindly introduced me to this plant at Ballyteigue, Co Wexford in 2008 and I photographed it there at that time.  

If you are satisfied you have correctly identified this plant, please submit your sighting to the National Biodiversity Data Centre

This is a very large plant family with over 1,500 species worldwide.  Among them is the Christmas potted plant – Poinsettia.  Like all other Spurges, the sap or latex in this plant is poisonous. 

Spurge, Portland