Perennial herb to 50 cm high, usually single-stemmed from rootstock, each stem generally unbranched and perennial. Leaves verticillate on stems, lanceolate, 35-85 mm long, 5-10 mm wide, sessile; tip pointed, with a short sharp point; base cordate to truncate. Leaves in whorl-head lanceolate (broader), 35-110 mm long, 12-15 mm wide; tip pointed or apiculate, base lobate to truncate; those in floral head stem-clasping, not fused; lanceolate-ovate, 13-20 mm long, 12-18 mm wide. Floral head umbel with 2-4 rays. Cyathia 4-5 mm wide; lobes 5, horned; glands 4 or 5, kidney-shaped, yellow blotched purple.
Often incorrectly spelt E. lathyrus L.
E. dendroides L. is occasionally cultivated but is easily distinguished as a shrub with free upper leaf pairs; it is occasionally naturalised on disturbed ground.
Europe.
Source: (2002). Euphorbiaceae. In: . Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia. Volume 3. Flowering plants. Dicotyledons. Part 2. The identification of garden and cultivated plants. University of New South Wales Press.