SPURGE FAMILY 



blend (as the petals are early deciduous) the dark-yellow 

 sepals of the flowers, borne at the ends of the branches. 



There is an interesting touch of local story in the Nan- 

 tucket name of Napoleon's Plume: Mrs. Stokeley Morgan 

 once wrote me, "Mrs. Owen had mentioned to me that 

 she had never heard that name for Cypress Spurge except 

 in Nantucket, it seemed local. In 1901 I spent the month 

 of August in Touraine. The Cypress Spurge was every- 

 where and called 'La plume de Napoleon!' When I came 

 home I told Mrs. Owen. She immediately said, 'Then the 

 name here must be a relic of the visit of the French bot- 

 anist, Marsillac. If you have here 'A catalogue of plants 

 growing without cultivation on the island of Nantucket,' 

 you will find in the preface, under date of July, 1888, it 

 (Nantucket) was once a garden of flowers. Such it was 

 called by the Frenchman, Marsillac, who, nearly a hun- 

 dred years ago, regardless of his silk stockings, plunged 

 into the swamps for their floral treasures." 



EUPHORBIACE^: SPURGE FAMILY 



Euphorbia polygonifolia, L. 



Whitish-green Seaside Spurge, 



Knotweed Spurge. 

 July-September 



Euphorbia: for derivation see Cyparissias. 



Polygonifolia: from Greek and Latin, signifying leaves and 



many knees, in allusion to the many joints of the leafy 



branches. 



THE PREFERRED HABITAT: beach sand. 



THE PLANT: from a long, straight root, flat on the sand; 

 the stem branched at the base, without hairs; the branches 

 radiating, forked, three inches to eight inches long, wiry. 



THE LEAVES: opposite; oblong to linear-lanceolate; fleshy; 

 obtuse, often mucronate at the apex; obtuse or slightly 



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