Euphorbia peplus
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| Euphorbia peplus L. |
Euphorbia peplus , the petty spurge is small plant, with very wide distribution commonly found in cultivated land and gardens in the UK, Europe, USA, France, Australia, New Zealand and other countries in temperate and sub-tropical regions.
It is an annual with smooth hairless stems and leaves and has green flowers in 3 rayed umbels. The glands, typical of the Euphorbiacae, are crescent moon shaped with long thin horns. The whole plant is between 5 cm and 30 cm tall although most plants growing as weeds of cultivation tend towards the shorter end of the scale. The milky latex sap is widely known as a therapeutic agent for the removal of warts and sun-spots on the skin and recent work also suggests that it may also be efective in treating superficial basal cell carcinomas.
