GREEN FLOWERS 



85 



191. Petty Spurge, Euphorbia Peplus, Spurge family. The 

 Spurges are readily recognised among our green-flowered plants 



191. Petty Spurge. 



192. Dog's Mercury. 



by the fact that they exude a milky juice when wounded : the 

 stem is branched, with smooth leaves of a fine green, oval or 

 ovate in shape : the apparent flowers are small and green ; in 

 reality they are little inflorescences of 

 much-simplified flowers : a common gar- 

 den weed, flowering in autumn : the Sun 

 Spurge is a common field weed, with serrate 

 leaves and yellowish green inflorescences. 



192. Dog's Mercury, Mercurialis peren- 

 nis, Spurge family. A common spring 

 plant of shady woods : the stem is about 

 1 ft. high, with pairs of broadly lance- 

 shaped, serrate leaves : the flowers are of 

 two kinds, male and female, occurring on 

 different plants : they are in little spikes 

 in the axils of the upper leaves, the former 

 yellowish green, the latter green : highly 

 poisonous. 



193. Bur-reed, Sparganium erectum, 

 Bur-reed family. A common plant grow- 

 ing in the muddy margins of sluggish 

 streams : the stem is about 2 ft. high, and 



is slightly branched : the flowers are gathered into spiky, spherical, 

 green heads, which are situated about the tips of the branches : 

 the leaves are long and sword-shaped : flowers in summer. 



193. Bur-reed. 



