Garden spurge originated in tropical and subtropical Americas and has since traveled the world, establishing itself in lawns, agricultural fields, sidewalk cracks, and nursery pots across Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Islands. The stems are a distinctive reddish-purple, covered with soft yellowish-brown hairs, and grow in a sprawling to ascending manner from 6 to 20 inches long. The inconspicuous flowers appear in small clusters at the leaf axils, followed by three-lobed capsules containing reddish-brown seeds that germinate without dormancy the moment they disperse.

In temperate gardens it functions as a warm-season annual, killed back by frost but quick to return where seeds have overwintered in the soil. It tolerates poor soils and a wide range of light conditions, needing only moderate moisture and decent drainage. Mulch helps prevent seed germination, since seeds require light to sprout. The milky sap is a contact irritant, and all parts are toxic if ingested. As a deliberate ground cover or container plant it has a loose, informal charm, provided it is managed before it runs to seed.