LXXV0. EUPII0RBIACE2E. 
383 
Euphorbia .] 
the upper part of the stem, ovate or lanceolate, serrate. Both kinds 
o (flowers are in axillary lax spikes. The plant when drying often be- 
comes of a bluish or blackish green. 
2- M. annua L. (annual M.)\ fertile flowers whorled nearly 
sessile, stem with opposite branches, leaves glabrous, root fibrous 
annual. — a. dioecious, leaves ovate or ovate-oblong, sterile 
flowers in lax spikes. E. B. t. 559. — 0. monoecious, leaves 
lanceolate, sterile and fertile flowers whorled intermixed. M. 
ambigua L.ftl. : Bab. in E. B. S. t. 2816. 
Waste places about towns and villages, not common. — 0. Jersey. 
Isle of Wight. ©. 7 — 11. — Stem about 1 foot high. Var. 0. has 
certainly a very different appearance, but De Candolle and most 
authors do not consider it distinct. 
2. Euphorbia Linn. Spurge. 
Involucre of one piece, resembling a perianth, including one 
fertile and several barren flowers, 5-cleft with 4 — 5 glands al- 
ternating with the segments. — Barren fl. A single stamen 
without a perianth. — Fertile fl, A single pistil without a 
perianth (or rarely a very minute one). Ovary 3-lobed, 3-celled, 
3-ovuled. Styles 3-cleft. Caps, separating elastically from the 
axis into 3 cocci, each bursting along the inner angle towards 
the apex and 1-seeded. — Named from Euphorbus, physician to 
Juba, king of Mauritania, who brought the plant into use. 
* Leaves with stipules. Glands nf the involucre with small membranous 
processes beneath. 
1. E. Peplis L. ( purple S.) ; stem procumbent forked, leaves 
oblong heart-shaped nearly entire, flowers axillary solitary, 
glands of the involucre circular on the outside, capsule smooth 
keeled, seeds smooth (white). E. B. t. 2002. 
Sandy coast, in Devon and Cornwall. Channel Islands. 0. 7 — 9. 
— Remarkable for its procumbent stems, of a glaucous hue, much 
tinged with purple, and stipuled leaves. 
** Leaves without stipules. Glands of the involucre without membranous 
processes beneath. 
f Glands of the involucre suborbicular or transversely oval. 
2. E. Heliascupia L. (Sun S .) ; umbel of 5 principal 3-fid and 
bifid branches, bracteas and leaves obovato-cuneate serrate 
upwards, glands of the involucre suborbicular, capsule glabrous, 
seeds reticulate and pitted. E B. t. 883. 
Abundant in waste and cultivated ground. ©. 6 — 10 — The 
acrid milky juice is employed to destroy warts. 
3. E . plutyphylla L. (broad-leaved warted S.) ; umbel of about 
