The Saga of Leafy Spurge (Euphorbia esula) in the Northern Great Plains

Abstract

Leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula L.) is an invasive Eurasian perennial introduced into the United States as a contaminant of crop seed in the 1880s and 1890s. It typically forms monocultures in rangeland and natural areas of the northern Great Plains where, because of the latex that occurs in all parts of the plant, it is not consumed by naturally occurring herbivores. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists and their collaborators have been studying leafy spurge at Theodore Roosevelt National Park (TRNP) and at Arrowwood and Tewaukon National Wildlife Refuges in North Dakota since 1998. Study findings have been published in Larson and Grace (2004), Larson and others (2006), Larson and others (2007), Jordan and others (2008), and Larson and others (2008). This fact sheet summarizes that body of research.