[1] It has commonly been confused with Euphorbia esula, a species no longer considered a permanent component of the North American flora.

Euphorbia esula is restricted to certain parts of Europe and not considered a weedy species, while E. virgata is found throughout the United States and Canada and has caused significant economic and ecological impacts.

Leafy spurge quickly colonizes in areas with bare soil, especially those caused by human disturbance where native species are removed.

[3] Because of its persistent nature and ability to regenerate from small pieces of root, leafy spurge is extremely difficult to eradicate.

[3] Several systemic herbicides have been found to be effective if applied in June, when the flowers and seeds are developing, or in early-to-mid-September, when the plants are moving nutrients downward into the roots.

The unigenes have been used to develop cDNA microarrays that also include more than 4,000 additional cDNAs from cassava (another Euphorb related to leafy spurge).

These microarrays are being used to identify physiological processes and signals that regulate bud dormancy (one of the main reasons leafy spurge is difficult to control)[12] and invasiveness.