[3] Native to subtropical and tropical North and South America, it is widely naturalized elsewhere.

[citation needed] Dwarf poinsettia is an annual herb growing up to 3 feet (0.91 metres) tall.

[4] Painted Spurge is naturalized in Queensland, New South Wales, Western Australia, including in national parks, such as Heron Island.

[5] It prefers open sunny areas and sandy soils, and therefore often invades coastal dunes.

Due to its invasiveness, it is also found in smaller pantropical populations worldwide.