Noxious, Invasive Myrtle Spurge Is Colorado's Most-Hated Weed

DENVER, CO -- With its olive-green coloring, the quick-spreading ground cover Myrtle Spurge is a cactus-y favorite in Colorado's xeriscape gardens. But Denver wants it GONE.

The City of Denver is partnering with Denver Parks and Rec for a "Myrtle Spurge Purge" event at the organization's 8th annual Plant Exchange Saturday May 19, 9 a.m.-noon at Harvard Gulch Park.

Bring in a bag of the invasive, noxious weeds and you'll get a free replacement ornamental plant for your garden.

Why has the world turned on this pesky perennial, which was imported from Eurasia?

Well, first of all, it wants to kill you.

The low-growing plant with fleshy stems and triangular leaves is highly poisonous. Its toxic milky sap can cause vomiting and diarrhea if ingested and skin irritations (even blisters) if you so much as touch it. If you do pull it out, you should wear "shoes, long sleeves, gives and eye protection," the Department of Agriculture warns.

It's also highly invasive. Gardeners love it at first when the myrtle quickly spreads to cover up space in rock gardens. But the plant expands via an underground tap root and can spew seeds up to 15 feet, according to the Dept. of Agriculture. The invasive plant quickly jumps out of your rock garden and crowds out native species which gives wildlife fewer places to find foraging matter such as Kinnikinnick or sulfur flower.

The department has listed Myrtle Spurge as on the A-List for statewide eradication.

It also pops up again when you think it's gone. Once you remove the plant, you must keep watching the area for re-seeding for eight years, the Dept. of Ag says.

So, don your hazmat suit and get weeding.

Image via Colorado Dept. of Agriculture