The entire spurge family (Euphorbiaceae), including all U.S. native spurges, was listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in 1975. Poinsettias, the popular holiday plant, belong to this family. Cliff spurge (Euphorbia misera) is another member of this family that is native to the United States and Mexico.

Cliff spurge is native to primarily coastal areas of the south-western United States (California) and north-western Mexico (Sonora and Baja California). A slow-growing perennial shrub, cliff spurge has short, knobby stems that exude a milky latex when damaged. The species blooms from December to August and is pollinated by insects. Typical of plants in the spurge family, the part that most people call the flower is actually comprised of a group of specialized leaves, called bracts, that are often a different color than the other, green leaves on the plant. In the case of cliff spurge, the bracts are cream-colored and each bract has a striking red gland at its base.

Most members of the spurge family are valued for their appearance and some are used as medicine. Many spurges are commonly available as houseplants – sold in stores throughout the United States. Sometimes, wild plant material is desirable to maintain distinctive traits in cultivation. Cliff spurge is well-known in commercial cultivation. But the cliff spurge sold in stores is not taken from the wild. They are grown from seeds or cuttings from plants that are maintained by nurseries.

In Mexico, cliff spurge used as medicine by local indigenous groups. For instance, root tea is consumed to combat stomach ache, dysentery, and even venereal disease. However, medicinal use of this species highly localized, and not widespread outside the local populations.

Cliff spurge and CITES

To ensure that international orchid trade is not detrimental to the survival of wild populations, the entire spurge family (Orchidaceae), including all U.S. native orchids, was listed on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in 1975. Today, ten spurge species are listed in Appendix I, while only succulent spurges remain listed in Appendix II of CITES.

CITES Parties also recognize that, in general, artificial propagation of plants should be encouraged to reduce collection pressure on wild populations. Special provisions exist for trade in plants of artificially propagated Appendix-II spurges that meet specific requirements are exempt from CITES regulations.

Cliff spurge and CoP15

A mechanism exists in CITES to re-examine the biological and trade status of species included in the CITES Appendices every so often, in order to ensure that the species is still appropriately listed. This process is called the Periodic Review of the Appendices and the Plants Committee is responsible for selecting and reviewing plant species to undergo this re-examination. Periodic Reviews may result in no change to the species’ listing status, an uplisting, a downlisting, or a delisting of the species, depending on the results of the analysis. In 2005, all succulent Euphorbia, including cliff spurge, were selected for Periodic Review.

At the 15th Conference of the Parties (CoP15), the United States and Mexico are working jointly to propose removing cliff spurge from CITES Appendix II. Since the species was listed in 1975, there has been no CITES-recorded international trade in wild specimens. The species is already cultivated domestically for the ornamental trade and there is no evidence that wild populations are being impacted for trade, either domestic or international. For these reasons, the species no longer qualifies for inclusion in Appendix II.