THE SPURGE FAMILY. 30 



ful in distinguishing between the twelve or thirteen native 

 species. This singularity is chiefly due to the colour and 

 arrangement of their flowers. These possess neither sepals 

 nor petals ; instead, a number of unisexual flowers are wrapped 

 in an involucre. An individual involucre of, say, the Sun 

 Spurge, should be detached and examined with the aid of the 

 pocket-lens. It will be seen to have four lobes, to each of 

 which is attached an orbicular yellow gland. Within the 

 involucre are several flowers, each consisting of a single 

 stamen on a separate flower-stalk (note joint), and from the 

 midst of these arises a single pistillate flower on a long, 

 curved stalk. With slight variations this is the form of 

 inflorescence which characterizes the whole genus. The 

 British species may be briefly enumerated thus : 



I. Sun Spurge (E. helioscopia.} Annual herb with yellow green obovate leaves, 

 the margin of upper half toothed. Milky juice used as a wart-cure. Waste places, 

 June to October. 



II. Broad-leaved Spurge (E. platyphyllos). Annual. Leaves broad, lance-shaped, 

 sharp-pointed, toothed above middle. Fruit (capsule) warted. Fields and waste 

 places from York southwards : rare. July to October. 



III. Irish Spurge (E. hiberna). Perennial. Leaves thin, ovate, not toothed, 

 tip blunt or notched ; upper leaves heart-shaped. Glands of involucre purple, 

 kidney-shaped. Hedges and thickets, rare ; only in North Devon and South and 

 West of Ireland. Flowers May and June. Juice used by salmon-poachers for 

 poisoning rivers. 



IV. Wood Spurge (E. amygdaloides). Perennial, stout, red, shrubby. Leaves 

 obovate, thick, tough, reddish, 2 to 3 inches long, hairy beneath, lower on short 

 stalks. Involucral glands half-moon shaped, yellow. Woods and copses, chiefly 

 on clay soils. Flowers March to May. 



V. Petty Spurge (E. pephis). Annual. Leaves thin, broadly obovate, on short 

 stalks, | inch long. Involucral glands half-moon shaped (lunate), with long horns. 

 Waste ground, market-gardens and flower-beds. July to November. 



VI. Dwarf Spurge (E. exigud). Annual. Much branched. Leaves very 

 narrow and stiff. Involucres small, almost stalkless. Involucral glands, rounded 

 with two blunt-pointed horns. Fields, especially on light soil. July to 

 October. 



VII. Portland < S>^>\irg&(E.portlandica). Perennial, tufted, many-branched stems. 

 Leaves tough, obovate acute, spreading. Involucral glands, lunate, with two long 

 horns. Sandy shores, on South and West coasts, and in Ireland. May to August. 

 Rare. 



VIII. Sea Spurge (E. paralias). Perennial, bushy, many-stemmed, stout, red- 



