Monday 28 August 2023

PETTY OR SUNNY

There are over 2000 members of the spurge (Euphorbia) genus. Here are two that I often find in my veg plot, that can be easily confused.  I found them growing next to each other in the crack at the foot of a wall:  Petty Spurge on the left and Sun Spurge on the right.


Sun Spurge (Euphorbia helioscopia) has bigger, yellower leaves and bracts arranged radially, like the sun.




  


Petty Spurge (Euphorbia Peplus) is a fresh  green but smaller leaved and the top is not so flat


  

Another common but much larger visitor to the garden is Caper Spurge (Euphorbia lathyrus)with a white stripe down the strap-shaped leaves, which grow in four vertical rows.  

  

When the seed pods are ripe they pop open explosively and spread the seeds over a wide area.

    

Like all spurges, the milky latex in the stems can damage your skin so beware.





 

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