Southeastern Flowering Spurge
Euphorbia pubentissima
Found in dry woodlands, sandbars, cobblebars, rock outcrops, longleaf pine sandhills. 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
- 14–26 inches
- Light
- Partial shade, Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry to moist
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- April to September
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 57 Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Streams, rivers and their banks
Cliffs, ledges and rocky summits
Forests and open woodlands on dry ridges and slopes, often oak or pine.
Dry, deep-sand ridges with longleaf pine and turkey oak, kept open by fire.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 79 animals.
- Northern CardinalCardinalis cardinalis
- Northern FlickerColaptes auratus
- Northern MockingbirdMimus polyglottos
- Orange-crowned WarblerVermivora celata
- Orchard OrioleIcterus spurius
- OspreyPandion haliaetus
- Pileated WoodpeckerDryocopus pileatus
- Pine SiskinCarduelis pinus
- Pine WarblerDendroica pinus
- Prairie WarblerDendroica discolor
- Purple FinchCarpodacus purpureus
- Red-bellied WoodpeckerMelanerpes carolinus
- Red-cockaded WoodpeckerPicoides borealis
- Red-headed WoodpeckerMelanerpes erythrocephalus
- Red-tailed HawkButeo jamaicensis
- Red-winged BlackbirdAgelaius phoeniceus
- Ruby-crowned KingletRegulus calendula
- Ruby-throated HummingbirdArchilochus colubris
- Sharp-shinned HawkAccipiter striatus
- Spotted SandpiperActitis macularius
- Tufted TitmouseBaeolophus bicolor
- Turkey VultureCathartes aura
- White-crowned SparrowZonotrichia leucophrys
- White-eyed VireoVireo griseus
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
- White
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “April to September” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “White” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Height · “14–26 inches” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Light · “Partial shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- primary_flower_color · “white” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Soil · “Dry; Moist (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | S5 |
|---|---|
| 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), South Central 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