Tinted Spurge
Euphorbia commutata
Found in rich forests and rock outcrops, over calcareous or mafic rocks. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 94%
- Height
- Up to about 16 inches
- Light
- Partial shade, Full shade
- Soil moisture
- Dry to moist
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Annual
- Bloom
- March to July
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 36 Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone
Glades, barrens and outcrops on mafic or serpentine rock
Open, thin-soil openings, outcrops and cliffs on dark, magnesium- or iron-rich rock such as serpentine, diabase or gabbro.
Who uses this plant?
8CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · Euphorbia
- Automeris ioIo Moth
- Episimus argutanaSumac Leaftier
- Eudryas unioPearly Wood-Nymph
- Eutrapela clematariaCurved-Tooth Geometer, Purplish Brown Looper
- Hypercompe scriboniaGiant Leopard Moth, Great Leopard Moth
- Lobocleta plemyrariaStraight-Lined Wave
- Pygarctia abdominalisYellow-Edged Pygarctia
- Sparganothis sulfureanaSparganothis Fruitworm Moth, Sulfur Leafroller, False Yellow-Head
13BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Euphorbia
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
14BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Euphorbia
- Anthus rubescensAmerican Pipit
- Anthus spragueiiSprague's Pipit
- Calcarius pictusSmith's Longspur
- Callipepla gambeliiGambel's Quail
- Cardinalis cardinalisNorthern Cardinal
- Columbina passerinaCommon Ground Dove
- Corvus brachyrhynchosAmerican Crow
- Cyrtonyx montezumaeMontezuma Quail
- Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
- Pooecetes gramineusVesper Sparrow
Show all 14
- Spizella breweriBrewer's Sparrow
- Spizella pusillaField Sparrow
- Tympanuchus pallidicinctusLesser Prairie-Chicken
- Zenaida macrouraMourning Dove
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Euphorbiaceae
- Flower color
- Yellow or green
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “March to July” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Yellow or green” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Height · “Up to about 16 inches” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Life cycle · “Annual” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Light · “Partial shade; Full shade (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Soil · “Dry; Moist (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as
Euphorbia commutatus; Woodland Spurge
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | S4 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| VA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications