Dwarf Spurge

Euphorbia exigua L.

GB Red List England Red List GB Scarcity Norfolk Scarcity
NT VU    
Archaeophyte, Axiophyte

Dwarf Spurge

Dwarf Spurge is an annual of arable land, less frequently occurring in other areas of disturbed ground such as gardens, waste ground and bare patches in dry grassland. It favours dry, light and base-rich soils in sunny situations (J. H. Cox in Preston et al 2002).

In Norfolk, Dwarf Spurge is mainly a plant of arable field margins. It is widely scattered across the county but, rather contrary to its reputation for lighter soils, it is most often encountered in the Claylands of the south. It only occasionally occurs in the Fens and rarely the Broads. Recently it seems to have been spreading in the central-northern parts of the county where it has been found in over twenty 'new' tetrads since 2000.

Euphorbia exigua map