cliff spurge

noun

A type of drought-deciduous shrub native to Baja California, of species Euphorbia misera.

Meanings

nouncliff spurge (uncountable)
  1. uncountableA type of drought-deciduous shrub native to Baja California, of species Euphorbia misera.

    Along the ocean near San Diego he collected Cliff Spurge, today listed as rare in the area, and in the dry plains around San Diego now covered by suburbia, he found large tracts of tarweed […]

    2006 March 2, Richard G. Beidleman, California's Frontier Naturalists, Univ of California Press, →ISBN, page 211
    2 more examples

    The expansion of the Point Loma treatment plant would have long-term significant impacts to 10.2 acres of maritime succulent scrub, including losses of individuals to populations of San Diego barrel cactus, snake cholla, and cliff spurge on Point Loma.

    1991, Clean Water Program for Greater San Diego, Secondary Treatment System, Associated Sludge Management Facilities, Joint EIR/EIS D(2v); Technical Appendix, Secondary Treatment System: Environmental Impact Statement, page 12

    Our trail came out to a cliff top, and we sat and ate lunch while watching the elephant seals on the beach below. Tiny yellow rock daises took hold in the slip scree, along with some of the frankenia and cliff spurge, and in the rock pools below an American oystercatcher picked its way between boulders, both granite and living.

    1995, Michelle A. Gilders, Reflections of a Whale-watcher, Indiana University Press, →ISBN, page 77

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see

Origin

Named for its habitat on the coastal cliffs of California and western Mexico.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

cliff spurge. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cliff%20spurge

MLA

“cliff spurge.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cliff%20spurge. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cliff spurge,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cliff%20spurge.

Source: cliff spurge on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.