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| Petty Spurge; Euphorbia Peplus L. |
Spurge Family; EUPHORBIACEÆ
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| Petty Spurge is an annual herb usually 4 to 10 inches tall, distinctly light green colored, weak and rank. The leaves are up to an
inch long and are widest near their tips. It has tiny, inconspicuous yellowish flowers, and a stem that exudes acrid, sticky white sap when
severed. Attack it by digging up its roots, because merely plucking the green tops off its stem by hand or hoe just allows the plant to resprout. It
is extremely common and can be found at nearly any time under rhododendrons, looking vaguely like chickweed yet distinct in every
little detail. Tolerant of considerable shade, it does better in partial sunshine. |
| Some of its
Euphorbia cousins cultivated in the Seattle area include Poinsettia, Cypress Spurge, and Gopher Spurge or Mole
Plant. Petty Spurge is not the only weedy Spurge in our area, although it is by far the most abundant species. |
| In its European homeland it was once used by herbalists, but is so inimical to human flesh that it borders on the toxic and has
generally been avoided if not feared, and used very rarely and cautiously. It definitely helps fight skin cancer (for more on this do a web-search and read about what Peplin Biotech in Australia has demonstrated). Other names are Wartweed and Devil's Milk. |
Thus, Petty Spurge is no menace or serious pest, but is about as useless and therefore, detestable, as a weed can be. Good thing its
harm is minor. In fact, a case can be made that, if no other ground-cover is beneath a shrub planting, it may be better (in an ecologic sense)
than mere soil and moss. But we should get rid of it in order to plant Wintergreen
(Gaultheria procumbens) or Woodruff (Galium
odoratum) or some such valuable ground-cover. Even a more useful or less unsightly weed is a better choice. Don't let this petty thing occupy
space more deserving plants should use.
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Originally published as the Seattle Tilth newsletter Weed of the Month in March 1988, along with an illustration from a book.
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