It has many medium to tall unbranched stems with long narrow leaves, clothed densely in short hair (tomentose), and dark (ssp characias) or yellow (ssp wulfenii) floral nectar glands within the yellow cup-like cyathia, which are borne in large dense spherical to oblong clusters, from spring to early summer.

[6] Two main subspecies are found in different regions of the Mediterranean Basin; these often overlap in the western areas of distribution:.

[4] Garden cultivars are sold under the names ‘Black Pearl’, ‘Thelma's Giant’, ‘Lambrook Gold’, ‘Silver Swan’ and ‘Tasmanian Tiger’, among others.

These garden varieties are valued in Mediterranean or desert landscaping for not being highly demanding and for looking good despite lack of watering in sunny areas.

[8] The following cultivars have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit:-[9] This plant also has uses in traditional medicine; like many other species of genus Euphorbia[14] its toxic white and sticky sap has been used to treat skin excrescences, like cancers, tumors, and warts, since ancient times.