EUPHORBIACEjE 189 



Tribe III. CROTONE^E. Flowers distinct. Stamens mostly opposite the 

 sepals. Ovules solitary in each cell. 



Leaves opposite ; capsule 2-celled MERCURIALIS. 



Leaves alternate ; capsule 3-celled CROZOPHORA. 



BUXUS L. Box. 



B. sempervirens L. Common Box. The box is common on most of the 

 limestone hills in the middle or northern parts of the Var, and on the northern 

 sides of many of the mountains in les Alpes-Marit. It flowers in March or 

 April. 



The var. lane i folia Manceau (with larger more robust leaves) grows with 

 the type in the Gapeau Valley north of Hyeres. 



CROZOPHORA Nicker. 



C. tinctoria Juss. = Croton tinctorium L. Annual. Leaves large, 

 rhomboidal, sinuate, greyish-green. Flowers monoecious, yellowish. Capsule 

 scaly, pendent. 



Stony places and cultivated fields on the littoral, uncommon. June- 

 September. 



MERCURIALIS L. MERCURY. 



M. annua L. is extremely common in cultivated fields and waste places. 

 February-October. M. ambigua L., with monoecious flowers, is not un- 

 common in similar places, and flowers throughout the year. M. perennis L., 

 Dog's Mercury, grows in damp woods and shady places in the hills, as e.g. in 

 the famous Forest of Sainte-Baume, and at Montrieux, etc. 



EUPHORBIA L. SPURGE. 



* Leaves opposite. 



E. Chamsesyce L. A very small, slender, recumbent annual. Leaves 

 shortly petioled, suborbicular, small. Stipules setaceous. Flowers solitary, 

 axillary. Capsule trigonous, glabrous. 



Fields and stony or sandy places, uncommon. June-October. 



E. Peplis L. Purple Spurge. A small glabrous, fleshy annual ; glaucous 

 or purplish. Stem short, dividing into an umbel of 3 or 4 rays, so that the 

 plant appears to consist of repeatedly forked flowering branches, almost 

 prostrate on the sand. Floral leaves opposite, very oblique, broadly oblong, 

 obtuse and thick, with very small stipules at their base. Capsule glabrous and 

 smooth. 



Sea-sands, uncommon, except between Cannes and Menton. July- 

 September. 



E. Lathy ris L. Caper Spurge. A tall, stout annual or biennial, 2-4 ft. 

 high, smooth and glaucous. Stem, leaves narrow-oblong, getting broader 

 higher in the stem. Umbel of 3 or 4 long forked rays, with large ovate- 

 lanceolate floral leaves ; glands of involucre crescent-shaped, the points short and 

 blunt. Capsule large and smooth. Seeds wrinkled. 



Cultivated ground, rather rare. June-July. 



** Leaves alternate or scattered, without stipules ; flowers more or less 



in an umbel. 



E. dendroides L. Tree Spurge (Plate XXIV). Stems woody, much 

 branched, forming round bushes often 6 ft. high. Branches reddish, marked by 

 the scars of the old leaves. Leaves linear-lanceolate. Umbel 3-8 rayed. Floral 

 leaves rhomboidal. Glands 4, yellow, oval, emarginate or irregularly toothed.. 

 Capsule smooth. 



Maritime cliffs and rocks and rocky hills near the sea. Local. April-June. 



E. spinosa L. Spiny Spurge. Stems woody though slender, much 

 branched, forming dense round tufts or small bushes less than i ft. high ; 

 the old leafless brandies having the appearance of long spines. Leaves small, 



