60 MONOECIA— MONANDRIA. Euphorbia. 



mity. Fl. small, solitary, on short stalks, from the forks of the 

 stem, coloured like the herbage. Nect. 4, rounded, reddish. 

 Caps, and seeds large, smooth, deciduous when ripe. 

 Authors unanimously take this for the irsirXis, Peplis, of Diosco- 

 rides. It agrees with his description, and was found by Dr. Sib- 

 thorp on all the shores of Greece, and the neighbouring islands. 

 The herb, dried or salted, was preserved by the ancient Greeks 

 as a powerful purge, like the irsirXos of the same writer, which 

 Dr. Sibthorp, with great probability, referred to Euphorbia fal- 

 cata. 



* * Umbel of 3 hranclies. 



2. E. Peplus. Petty Spurge. 



Umbel three-branched, forked. Bracteas ovate. Leaves 

 obovate, stalked, entire. Nectaries crescent-shaped. Seeds 

 dotted. 



E. peplus. Linn. Sp. PI. 653. M'illd. v. 2. 903. Fl.Iir.5l4. Engl. 

 Bot. V. 14. t. 959. Curt. Lond.fasc. 1. t. 35. Hook. Scot. 148. 

 Bull. Fr. t. 79. 



Tithymalus n. 1049. Hall. Hist. v. 2. 9. 



T. parvus annuus, foliis subrotundis non crenatis, Peplus dictus. 

 Rail Syn. 3\3. 



Peplus. Dod.Pempt.375.f. Fuchs.Hist.603.f. Ic.345.f. Matth. 

 Falgr. V. 2. 598./. bad. Camer. Epit. 969./. Dalech. Hist. 1 658./. 



P. sive Esula rotunda. Bauh. Pin. 292. Ger. Em. 503./. Lob, Ic. 

 362./. 



Esula folio rotundo. Riv. Tetrap. Irr. t. 118. 



A common weed, in all cultivated ground. 



Annual. July, August. 



Herb light green, smooth, erect, from 6 to 1 inches high, often 

 with a branch or two at the base only. Umbellarge, of 3 spread- 

 ing, repeatedly forked branches, with a pair of opposite, ovate, 

 or heart-shaped, acute, entire, sessile bracteas at each subdivi- 

 sion ; and 3 obovate stalked ones under the common umbel. Fl. 

 yellowish. Nect. 4, crescent-shaped, slender, acute. Caps. 

 smooth. .Seeds angular, marked with depressed dots. 



The description which Dioscorides gives of his irsTtKos might well 

 be referred to this plant, by commentators unacquainted with 

 E. falcata. Its qualities are like the preceding. The juice of 

 this and E. helioscopia, more especially, is applied, to destroy 

 warts ; whence their common name Wart-weed, vulgarly cor- 

 rupted to Rat-weed. 



3. E. ewigua. Dwarf Spurge. 



Umbel three-branched, forked. Bracteas lanceolate. Leaves 

 lineal'. Nectaries horned. Seeds wrinkled. 



