Petty Spurge
Euphorbia peplus
The toxic sap of this weed contains ingenol mebutate, a compound that has been developed into a prescription drug to treat precancerous skin lesions.
- Scientific name
- Euphorbia peplus
- Taxonomy
- Plantae › Tracheophyta › Magnoliopsida › Malpighiales › Euphorbiaceae › Euphorbia
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- increasing
- Biome
- urban
- Habitat
- Gardens, cultivated fields, urban waste grounds, and roadsides.
- Diet
- Autotrophic (photosynthesis)
- Range
- Europe, North Africa, Western Asia, North America, Australia
- Size
- 10 to 30 cm in height
- Lifespan
- Annual (less than 1 year)
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Herbicides, intensive weeding, and urban development.
- Safe to approach?
- Defensive. The plant is safe to look at, but its milky white sap is highly toxic and corrosive. Do not break the stems or touch the sap, as it causes painful skin blistering (dermatitis) and severe eye irritation. If contact occurs, wash the affected area immediately with soap and cold water. Seek medical attention if sap enters the eyes or causes severe skin reactions.
Euphorbia peplus ( petty spurge , radium weed , cancer weed , or milkweed ) is a species of Euphorbia , native to most of Europe, northern Africa, and western Asia, where it typically grows in cultivated arable land, gardens, and other disturbed land.
Photo: Alexis Tinker-Tsavalas, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
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