438 E.UPHORBIACE/E 



mostly dioecious ; perianth of 3 leaves ; stamens 8 — 20 ; ovary 3- 

 chambered, 2-seeded. 



r. Euphorbia (Spurge). — The British species all herbs, with 

 milky juice ; leaves simple ; flowers monoecious, in cup-shaped, 

 4 — 5-lobed involucre with roundish or crescent-shaped glands 

 alternating with the lobes ; staminate flowers each of i pedicellate 

 stamen ; carpellate flower solitary, drooping, pedicellate, of 3 

 united carpels ; stigmas 2-cleft ; jruit 3-lobed, 3-seeded. (Name 

 from Euphorbus, physician to Juba, an ancient king of Mauretania.) 



^ Leaves opposite, stipulate 



1. E. Peplis (Red Spurge).— A prostrate, glabrous, and glaucous 

 plant, beautifully tinged with red, repeatedly forked ; leaves oppo- 

 site, stalked, blunt, auricled on one side at the base, thick, \ in. 

 long ; involucres axillary, with oblong glands. — Sandy sea-shores 

 in the south ; rare. — Fl. July — September. Annual. 



** Leaves exstipulate, generally scattered 



\ Umbels mostly c^-rayed ; involucral glands roundish, without 



cusps 



2. E. Helioscopia (Sun Spurge). — Varying in size from a few 

 inches to i| foot in height, generally glabrous, with obovate leaves 

 serrate above the middle, and easily distinguished by the golden- 

 green hue of its spreading umbel, which is large in proportion to 

 the size of the plant, and has 5 rays which are often repeatedly 

 forked; capsule smooth. — Cultivated ground; abundant. — Fl. June 

 — October. Annual. 



3. E. platyphyllos (Broad-leaved Spurge). — A similar, erect, 

 slightly branched, glabrous or hairy species, with cordate leaves, 

 finely serrate above the middle, 3 — 5-rayed umbel, repeatedly 

 forked ; 7 — 8 staminate flowers in each involucre ; capsule covered 

 with hemispherical warts.— Fields, chiefly in the south; rare. — Fl. 

 July — October. Annual. 



4. E. siricta (Upright Spurge). — Closely allied to the preceding, 

 but more slender, with more ascending branches, erect, 2 — 3 feet 

 high ; with thinner leaves ; generally 3-rayed umbel ; rarely more 



.rthan 2 staminate flowers in each involucre; capsule only half 

 the size, with longer, cylindric warts. — Woods on limestone in 

 Gloucestershire and Monmouth ; very rare. — Fl. June — August. 

 Annual. 



5. E. hiberna (Irish Spurge). — A downy plant, 1 — 2 feet high, 

 scarcely branched, with thin leaves 2 — 4 in. long and an inch or 

 more across, a 5-rayed umbel and large capsules with cylindric 



