Spurge Laurel (Daphne laureola) on May 27, 2026
Submitter does not have a specimen
EDRR Status: Local expert notified
Description of specimen
A landowner asked me to come identify a novel plant species. Upon inspection, the plant appeared to be Daphne laureola, or spurge laurel. It appears to have originally been planted in a neighbor's yard but has since moved into adjacent timberland. Now there is a dense continuous stand of the plant that crowds out native species. It is advancing up the neighbor's hill at about 2 acres a year. Random plants can be found up and down the road.
Although we do not currently have funding available for invasive plant species removal, we do offer a free tool loan program for tools like the Weed Wrench. https://www.polkswcd.com/tool-loan-program/
We also have a list of contractors including those who do invasives removal. We occasionally coordinate with partners on removal projects with volunteers etc. This seems like a good fit for that type of effort. The landowner can reach out to me if interested in the contractor list or a coordinated volunteer pull event. beth.thiel@polkswcd.com
Manual removal is recommended for Spurge Laurel, particularly when the soil is moist. According to the Integrated Weed Mgt Calendar, spurge laurel response to herbicide varies.
This is the recommended herbicide treatment by PNW Pest Management Handbook https://pnwhandbooks.org/weed/problem-weeds/spurge-laurel-daphne-laureola
Beth Thiel
May 28, 2026, 10:38 a.m.