118 THE FLORA OF THE ALPS 
Order LXXII.—EUPHORBIACE. 
Flowers small, usually unisexual; sepals 0 or 2 or 
more; petals 0; the flower or the inflorescence usually 
subtended by bracts which are often large and coloured ; 
ovary a 2—3-celled capsule with 2—3 simple or bifid styles ; 
leaves usually alternate and simple. A very large order 
of herbs, shrubs, and trees, generally with a milky juice, 
chiefly Tropical and Sub-Tropical, represented in Europe 
by only a very few genera. Not alpine. 
ty LL UPHORBIA, 4; 
Inflorescence composed of many male and one female 
flower collected into a cluster, subtended by bracts and 
glands, which are usually yellow and crescent-shaped ; 
ovary 3-celled, with three bifid stigmas; seed-vessel a 
3-lobed capsule. Herbs (the European species), with 
abundance of latex. 
The annual species of Spurge, which are common weeds 
in cultivated land in this country, are equally common in 
Switzerland, viz.:—EZ. Heloscopia, L., platyphyllos, L., 
Peplus, L., and exzgua, L.; also, in the South and West. 
£. falcata, L., having a prickly point to the upper leaves ; 
and segetalis, L., with linear-lanceolate acuminate leaves. 
£. Lathyris, L., Caper-Spurge, stem 14-3 ft., leaves oppo- 
site, capsule very large, is occasional in cultivated land. 
E. amygdaloides, L., stem 6-12 in., very stout and leafy, 
leaves obovate-lanceolate, is frequent (in the spring) ; and 
E. Cyparissias, L., stem 6-12 in., leaves acicular, very 
crowded, very common; both woods. £. vérgata, W. K., 
