Euphorbia helioscopia
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| Euphorbia helioscopia | ||||||||||||||
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 Flowers and immature fruit
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| Binomial name | ||||||||||||||
| Euphorbia helioscopia L. |
Euphorbia helioscopia (Sun Spurge) is a species of spurge native to most of Europe, northern Africa, and eastward through most of Asia.[1][2][3]
It is an annual plant growing in arable land and disturbed ground. It grows to 10–50 cm tall, with a single, erect, hairless stem, branching toward the top. The leaves are oval, broadest near the tip, 1.5-3 cm long, with a finely toothed margin. The flowers are small, yellow-green, with two to five basal bracts similar to the leaves but yellower; flowering lasts from mid spring to late summer.[3][4]
It is highly poisonous. Active ingredients are extracted from it for use in pharmaceutical industry.
Other old folk names include wart spurge, umbrella milkweed and "madwoman's milk".[4]
[edit] References
- ^ Germplasm Resources Information Network: Euphorbia helioscopia
- ^ Flora Europaea: Euphorbia helioscopia
- ^ a b Blamey, M. & Grey-Wilson, C. (1989). Flora of Britain and Northern Europe. ISBN 0-340-40170-2
- ^ a b Malta Wild Plants Euphorbia helioscopia
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