Euphorbia lathyrus
Common name
caper spurge
Synonyms
Euphorbia lathyris L.
Family
Euphorbiaceae
Flora category
Vascular – Exotic
Structural class
Herbs - Dicotyledons other than Composites
NVS code
The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.
EUPLAT
Conservation status
Not applicable
Features
A hairless, bluish-green biennial plant growing to a height of 1 - 1.5 metres.
Flowering
Summer months
Flower colours
Green, Yellow
Year naturalised
1870
Origin
E. and C. Mediterranean but widely naturalised in Western Europe.
Etymology
euphorbia: After Euphorbus, a Greek physician who served King Juba of Numidia in 12BC. Juba named a cactus to honour Euphorbus and later Linnaeus named the entire genus after the physician.
Poisonous plant:
All species of Euphorbia are poisonous especially this which can cause blindness in people removing it by hand from the garden and then rubbing their eyes.