Saturday, March 10, 2012

Sun Spurge (Euphorbia helioscopia)

Menidi, Aitoloakarnania

Euphorbia helioscopia (Euphorbiaceae family) or sun spurge (γαλατσίδα) is native to most Europe, Northern Africa and Asia. Other common names are ward spurge, umbrella milkweed and madwoman's milk. The name of the genus comes from the Greek physician Euphorbus, and the name of the species referes to the capability of the plant to turn towards the sun. When the plant is cut a milky juice flows and the greek common name galatsida (γαλατσίδα) indicates this. This sap is supposed to be a laxative (and highly poisonous). The name spurge comes from the middle english espurge (=laxative). The inflorescence is yellow-green with 4 petals. The stem is reddish. It is considered to be a weed in agriculture.


Peta, Epirus
Peta, Epirus


4 comments:

Marijke said...

I like the Euphorbia. It's specialty of mother nature.
gr. Marijke

jankasgarten said...

Udane zdjecia. Pozdrawiam :-)

CameraCruise said...

I think this plant looks beautiful, even if it's poisonous.
Another great post, thanks for sharing.
Mette

Giga said...

A ja mam wilczomlecz w ogródku i bardzo mi się podoba. Pozdrawiam.*** Και έχω μια ευφόρβιο στον κήπο και μου αρέσει πολύ. Δικός σου.