Spurge Family [Euphorbiaceae] |
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28th June 2011, Cushinstown, Eire. | Photo: © Paula O'Meara |
A short glaucous-green annual, to 9 inches tall with smooth stems. Stem leaves long and linear, the most distinctive feature distinguishing it from many other Spurges. |
28th June 2011, Cushinstown, Eire. | Photo: © Paula O'Meara |
Flowering top not extetensively branched. |
28th June 2011, Cushinstown, Eire. | Photo: © Paula O'Meara |
Fruits (one in the centre of the top half) are smooth |
28th June 2011, Cushinstown, Eire. | Photo: © Paula O'Meara |
28th June 2011, Cushinstown, Eire. | Photo: © Paula O'Meara |
The bracts, which are in opposite pairs beneath the flowers, are broad and then taper to a lomg point. |
28th June 2011, Cushinstown, Eire. | Photo: © Paula O'Meara |
Bracts curly at the edges. Smooth roundish fruit growing above the greenish-yellow flowers. |
28th June 2011, Cushinstown, Eire. | Photo: © Paula O'Meara |
Flowers petalless, yellowish-green, with very slender crescentic horns. |
28th June 2011, Cushinstown, Eire. | Photo: © Paula O'Meara |
Flowers four-lobed with slender crescentic horns, bottom left, and fruit growing above and to one side of it. |
28th June 2011, Cushinstown, Eire. | Photo: © Paula O'Meara |
Leaves smooth, with a slight satin sheen. |
28th June 2011, Cushinstown, Eire. | Photo: © Paula O'Meara |
Fruit turning pink. |
Not to be confused semantically with : Some similarities to : other Spurges such as Cypress Spurge but that has narrower leaves, and many more of them. The distinguishing features of Dwarf Spurge are the very narrow straight crescentic horns, the broad (but tapering to a long point) bracts beneath the flowers and the smooth fruits. Uniquely identifiable characteristics Distinguishing Feature : Like all spurges, when broken, the stems ooze a caustic and poisonous milky fluid which should not be allowed to come into contact with the skin, especially not the eyes when blindness may result.
The milky sap contains three diterpenoid Jatrophanes, which are polyesters, with one being Found mostly in a broad triangular area in the South East of England, and near Waterford, Eire. It imhabits arable fields, especially on calcareous soils. |
Euphorbia | exigua | ⇐ Global Aspect ⇒ | Euphorbiaceae |
Euphorbia (Spurges) |
Spurge Family [Euphorbiaceae] |