38 MEDICINAL HERBS AND POISONOUS PLANTS 



the edge of the cup are five rounded glands. A glance 

 at fig. 17 will make these points clear. 



The milky exudations are the most poisonous struc- 

 tures of thevse plants. Of the thirteen species of Spurges 

 in this country there are records against three of them, viz. 

 the Sun Spurge, the Caper Spurge, and the Petty Spurge. 



The Sun Spurge {Euplwrhia Helioscopia). — The 



above description of the Spurge flower was taken from 

 the flower as seen in the Sun Spurge. It is distin- 

 guished from the rest in possessing the following charac- 

 teristics: — 



1. The golden-green hue of its spreading umbel. 



2. The umbel has several serrated leaves at its base. 



3. The umbel is large in proportion to the rest of the 



plant. 



Examine fig. 17 for verification of these points. 



Other names are Wart-wort, Churn-staff, Cat's 



]\[iLK. The first name is given because of the use of the 

 milky juice to cure warts. It has also been improperly 

 used to cure sore eyelids, causing, in many cases, need- 

 less pain to the sufferer. A boy is known to have died 

 after eating the Sun Spurge. It was found that the 

 mouth, throat, and stomach of the boy had become 

 highly inflamed and corroded. 



The Caper Spurge (Eujjhorhia Zai/i^/ris).— This is 



a tall herbaceous plant some 2-4 feet high. It is readily 

 distinguished from all other Spurges by its opposite 

 leaves (fig. 18). It was originally a Continental species, 

 but is now naturalized with us. 



The unripe fruit is like that of the common garden 

 Nasturtium {Tropteolum majtts), and, like that fruit, it 

 has been used for pickling purposes, hence its name of 

 Caper Spurge. A fairly large amount of information 

 has been collected conceriiing this plant As is the ease 



