Spurge

spurj, a large genus of plants, the botanical name of which is Euphorbia. The spurges vary greatly in habit. In the eastern part of North America there are a dozen prostrate or spreading spurges, having slender stems like those of the marsh cranberry and small, one-sided, smooth, or hairy leaves shaped like a mouse's ear. They are much more delicate plants than purslane. When a stem or leaf is broken, a drop of white fluid oozes or spurges out. Other American species are erect, perennial herbs. Some of the tropical spurges, especially of Africa, have leafless stems like those of the tree cactus. They are covered with prickly spines. However widely the spurges may differ in appearance their flowers are all small, naked, and inconspicuous. A triangular seed pod, shaped somewhat like a grain of buckwheat, protrudes on a slender stem amid a cluster of greenish stamens. This pod is three-angled, and contains three seeds, often curiously pitted and wrinkled. Once the observer's attention has been directed to the spurges, the entire group will be found full of interest. The triangular stalked seed pod and milky sap are sufficient means of identification. There are about 600 spurges. The Euphorbia family, to which the spurges belong, comprises not less than 3,000 species. They are especially numerous in Australasia. Several plants of the family furnish caoutchouc from which India rubber is made. The castor-oil plant belongs also to this family.