It normally grows up to 2 feet (0.6 m) in height, and contains milky sap which can cause skin and eye irritation.

[7][8] Plant hairless on all parts, stems generally about 50 cm (rare outliers to 170 cm), obviously arching, few to many, with flowers and fruit capsules as conspicuous dense balls held a distance from the stem (FNA).

(Confusion with other species such as E. hyssopifolia/nutans may occur where the balls have few flowers in which case they will lack interspersed leaves.)

[9] The places where this plant is an introduced species includes Spain, Italy, Greece, Indian subcontinent, China, South Korea, Myanmar, and parts of Indonesia  as well as Subsaharan Africa.

[10] According to James Mooney, the Cherokee Indians made use of the juice from this plant to cure skin eruptions.