124 COMMON WEEDS 



Sun Spurge (Euphorbia Helioscopia L.) occurs chiefly 

 in cultivated fields on sandy and clayey loams. It is a 

 smooth annual, 6 to 18 inches high, with simple or three- 

 branched stem. The leaves are somewhat oval, i to 2 

 inches long, rounded at the top ; the small flowers, 

 the male and female separate, are in golden-green, 

 five-rayed umbels, which are often repeatedly forked. 

 The seed capsules are three-lobed and three-seeded. 

 Flowering takes place from June to October. 



Petty Spurge (E. Peplus L.) is a small annual, often 

 very plentiful in gardens or in field cultivation on 

 loamy soils. This species (Fig. 36) is under a foot 

 high, smooth, light green, with broadly ovate stalked 

 or sessile leaves, and repeatedly forked three-rayed 

 umbels of small greenish flowers, which appear from 

 July to November. 



Caper Spurge (E. Lathyris L.), described at p. 309, 

 is a biennial which occurs both in garden and field. 



Dwarf Spurge (E. exigua L.) commonly occurs in 

 cornfields. It is an annual of about a foot high, very 

 much branched from the base, with narrow leaves, 

 and three- to five-rayed umbels of flowers appearing 

 from June to October. The plant is very variable. 



As regards eradication, it must be noted that all 

 species are only propagated from seeds, being annual or 

 biennial. Surface cultivation in spring and the free 

 use of the hoe will in general keep these weeds in 

 check, but it is important that seeding be prevented. 



URTICACE.E 



The Great (Stinging) Nettle (Urtica dioica L.), 

 dealt with more fully at p. 207, is often troublesome 

 along the borders of arable fields and in gardens. 

 It may best be destroyed by removing the extensively 



