56 
Injurious Fodder and Poisonous Plants. 
VIII. E.' — Daphne Laureola L. (Spurge Laurel), shrub, 1 ft. 
to 3 ft. high. Leaves : evergreen, similar to the true laurel. 
Flowers : yellowish green, in bunches of about five 
axillary. February to April. Berries; egg shaped, black. 
Place of growth: woods and hedges ; common in 
Yorkshire. Perennial. 
Qualities: Both shrubs are very corrosive. The berries, 
which can be eaten by birds without any harm are highly 
poisonous to other animals. * The symptoms noticed in animals 
are purging and vomiting of blood. Linnaeus states that six 
berries produced fatal injury. 
Euphorbiaceae. Prevailing qualities ; powerfully irritant 
and vesicant. 
IX. A. — Euphorbia Cyparissias L. (Cypress Spurge). 
Stem: 6 in. to 12 in. high. Leaves: on the flowering 
stem, spear shaped, smooth ; on the barren stem, slender, fir 
like. (This kind of leaves distinguishes the plant at once from 
the other British species of this genus.) Flowers: about 
seven in a very compact umbel, greenish yellow. May and 
June. Placeof growth: road-sides, local (Westmorland). 
Perennial. 
IX. B. — Euphorbia Peplus L. (Petty Spurge). Stem: 
6 in. to 10 in. high, erect. Leaves: light green, entire, 
alternate, bluntly linear. Flowers : yellowish green. May 
and June. Place of growth: common on cultivated and 
waste land. Annual. 
IX. C. — Euphorbia Lathyris L. (Caper Spurge). Stem: 
solitary, purplish, 1 ft. to 3 ft. high. Leaves : in four rows, 
opposite, glaucous, linear, oblong. Flowers : yellow in small 
umbels. June and July. Place of growth: rocky vmods, 
but also on cultivated ground. Biennial. 
Qualities : The species of this group possess a milky, acrid 
fluid, which is an irritant poison. The above three are most 
severe in their action. In small quantities purging is effected ; 
in larger it causes diarrhoea and colic symptoms, accompanied 
by swelling of the abdomen. These symptoms generally 
precede death from spasms. 
IX. D. — Mercurialis perennisl. (Dog’s Mercury). Stem: 
simple, 1 ft. high, bare at the base. Leaves : stalked, rough, 
oblong lanceolate. Flowers ; male and female on different 
plants. Male, in spikes ; female, on stalks, generally solitary. 
Yellow green, small. April and May. Place of growth: 
woods, hedge banks. The male and female plants rarely inter- 
mixed, each kind growing in patches. Little seed is ripened, 
* The figures and letters in front of the names refer tollthe plate and 
illustration. 
