''Euphorbia lathyris'', the caper spurge or paper spurge, is a species of
spurge
''Euphorbia'' is a large and diverse genus of flowering plants, commonly called spurge, in the family Euphorbiaceae.
Euphorbias range from tiny annual plants to large and long-lived trees, with perhaps the tallest being '' Euphorbia ampliphyl ...
native to Asia in western China, Kyrgyzstan and Pakistan and introduced elsewhere.
[''Flora Europaea'']
''Euphorbia lathyris''
/ref>[Blamey, M. & Grey-Wilson, C. (1989). ''Flora of Britain and Northern Europe''. ]
Other names occasionally used include gopher spurge, gopher plant or mole plant.[
]
Growth
It is an erect biennial
Biennial means (an event) lasting for two years or occurring every two years. The related term biennium is used in reference to a period of two years.
In particular, it can refer to:
* Biennial plant, a plant which blooms in its second year and t ...
(occasionally annual
Annual may refer to:
*Annual publication, periodical publications appearing regularly once per year
**Yearbook
**Literary annual
*Annual plant
*Annual report
*Annual giving
*Annual, Morocco, a settlement in northeastern Morocco
*Annuals (band), a ...
) plant growing up to 1.5 m tall, with a glaucous blue-green stem. The leaves are arranged in decussate
Decussation is used in biological contexts to describe a crossing (due to the shape of the Roman numeral for ten, an uppercase 'X' (), ). In Latin anatomical terms, the form is used, e.g. .
Similarly, the anatomical term chiasma is named aft ...
opposite pairs, and are lanceolate, 5–15 cm long and 1-2.5 cm broad, glaucous
''Glaucous'' (, ) is used to describe the pale grey or bluish-green appearance of the surfaces of some plants, as well as in the names of birds, such as the glaucous gull (''Larus hyperboreus''), glaucous-winged gull (''Larus glaucescens''), ...
blue-green with a waxy texture and pale greenish-white midrib and veins. The flowers are green to yellow-green, 4 mm diameter, with no petals. The seeds are green ripening to brown or grey, produced in globular clusters 13–17 mm diameter of three seeds compressed together.
Chemical characteristics
All parts of the plant, including the seeds and roots, are poisonous. Handling may cause skin irritation as the plant produces latex
Latex is an emulsion (stable dispersion) of polymer microparticles in water. Latices are found in nature, but synthetic latices are common as well.
In nature, latex is found as a wikt:milky, milky fluid, which is present in 10% of all floweri ...
. While poisonous to humans and most livestock, goats sometimes eat it and are immune to the toxin. However, the toxin can be passed through the goat's milk.
Habitat
Away from its native range, it is widely naturalised
Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...
in many regions, where it is often considered an invasive weed.USDA
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commerc ...
zones 5–9.
Uses
It is used in folk medicine
Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) refers to the knowledge, skills, and practices rooted in the cultural beliefs of various societies, especially Indigenous groups, used for maintaining health and treatin ...
as a remedy for cancer, corns, and warts and has purportedly been used by beggars to induce skin boils.[Purdue University:]
Euphorbia lathyris
/ref>
Euphorbia lathyris.jpg, Seeds
Euphorbia lathyris L. side wiew.jpg
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q164223
lathyris
Garden plants
Medicinal plants of Africa
Medicinal plants of Asia
Medicinal plants of Europe
Plants described in 1753
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus