Euphorbia lathyris, the caper spurge, is a species of spurge native to southern Europe, northwest Africa, and eastward through southwest Asia to western China. Other names occasionally used include gopher spurge, gopher plant or mole plant.
Euphorbia lathyris - the caper spurge or paper spurge - is a species native to southern Europe. It is an erect biennial plant growing up to 1.5 m tall, with a glaucous blue-green stem, lanceolate 5–15 cm long blue-green leaves arranged in decussate opposite pairs. The flowers are green to yellow-green, 4 mm diameter, with no petals. The seeds are green ripening brown or grey, produced in globular clusters 13–17 mm diameter of three seeds compressed together. It is widely naturalized in many regions, where it is often considered an invasive weed.
