Euphorbia helioscopia (*) Cladus: Eukaryota Name Euphorbia helioscopia L. Vernacular names 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] References 1. ^ Germplasm Resources Information Network: Euphorbia helioscopia Source: Wikipedia, Wikispecies: All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License |
|