60 MONOECIA— MONANDRIA. Euphorbia. 



mity. Fl. small, solitary, on short stalks, from the forks of the 

 stem, coloured like the herbage. Nect. 4, rounded, reddish. 

 Caps, and seeds large, smooth, deciduous when ripe. 

 Authors unanimously take this for the itsitXi;, Peplis, of Diosco- 

 rides. It agrees with his description, and was found by Dr. Sib- 

 thorp on all the shores of Greece, and the neighbouring islands. 

 The herb, dried or salted, was preserved by the antient Greeks 

 as a powerful purge, like the ttettAoj of the same writer, which 

 Dr. Sibthorp, with great probability, referrred to Euphorbia fal- 

 cata. 



** Umbel qfS branches. 



2. E. Peplus. Petty Spurge. 



Umbel three-branched, forked. Bracteas ovate. Leaves 

 obovate, stalked, entire. Nectaries crescent-shaped. Seeds 

 dotted. 



E. peplus. Linn. Sp. PL 653. Willd.v.2.903. FL Br. 514. EngL 



Bot. V. 14. <. 959. Curt. Lond.fasc. I. ^,35. Hook. ScoL 148. 



BulL Fr. t.79. 

 Tithymalus n. 1049. HaU.Hist. v. 2. 9. 

 T. parvus annuus, foliis subrotundis non crenatis, Peplus dictus. 



RaiiSyn.3\3. 

 Peplus. Dod.PempL375.f. Fuchs. Hist. 603./. Jc. 345./. Matth. 



Falgr.v. 2. 598. /.had. Camer.Epit. 969./. Dalech.Hist.l 658./. 

 P. sive Esula rotunda. Bauh. Pin. 292. Ger. Em. 503./. Lob. Ic. 



362./. 

 Esula folio rotundo. Riv. Tetrap.Irr. t, 118. 



A common weed, in all cultivated ground. 



Annual. July, August, 



Herb light green, smooth, erect, from 6 to 10 inches high, often 

 with a br<inch or two at the base only. Umbel large, of 3 spread- 

 ing, repeatedly forked branches, with a pair of opposite, ovate, 

 or heart-shaped, acute, entire, sessile bracteas at each subdivi- 

 sion j and 3 obovate stalked ones under the common umbel. FL 

 yellowish. Nect. 4, crescent-shaped, slender, acute. Caps. 

 smooth. .Seeds angular, marked with depressed dots. 



The description which Dioscorides gives of his iteitXoi might well 

 be referred to this plant, by commentators unacquainted with 

 E./alcata. Its qualities are like the preceding. The juice of 

 this and E. helioscopia, more especially, is applied, to destroy 

 warts ; whence their common name Wart-weed, vulgarly cor- 

 rupted to Rat-weed. 



3. E. exigua. Dwarf Spurge. 



Umbel three -branched, forked. Bracteas lanceolate. 

 Leaves linear. Nectaries horned. Seeds wrinkled. 



