Participant Info

Species

Euphorbia brachycera [Tithymalus brachycera] [Euohorbia montana] [Euphorbia odontadenia] [Euphorbia robusta] etc.

Family

Euphorbiaceae

CommonName

horned spurge

Presence

YES

Status

native

EarliestDate

1939

LatestDate

2017

Ecosystem

basin, shrubland, foothill, montane, sanddunes

Geobotanical

SSanjuans, NCristos, UBasin

Counties

Alamosa, Mineral, Rio Grande, Saguache

Passes

WildlifePreserves

Baca, Great Sand Dunes

Other Localities

PhotoRecords

YES Rich Haswell: Alamosa Co, Great Sand Dunes NP 8 June 2017

Comments

In the Watershed, horned spurge is most common in the foothills of the northern Cristos, especially around the Great Sand Dunes up to Crestone—but all told, there are not many collections. Less than five come from the west side of the Valley (e.g., "Dry Creek," perhaps North Dry Creek one mile N of Rock Creek cpgd, Rio Grande Co, 1939). Euphorbia brachycera is largely a plant of the Rocky Mountains, Intermountain region, and desert Southwest, its range extending from the Canadian to the Mexican border. It follows the Rio Grande drainage through New Mexico to the Big Bend country of Texas and maybe beyond.

Annotation