Euphorbia peplis

Not to be confused with Euphorbia peplus (petty spurge), a common weed of arable land.
Euphorbia peplis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Malpighiales
Family: Euphorbiaceae
Genus: Euphorbia
Species: E. peplis
Binomial name
Euphorbia peplis
L.

Euphorbia peplis (purple spurge[1]) is a species of Euphorbia, native to southern and western Europe, northern Africa, and southwestern Asia, where it typically grows on coastal sand and shingle.[2][3][4]

It is a small, prostrate annual plant, the stems growing to 10-20 cm long, typically with four stems from the base. The leaves are opposite, oval, 1-2 cm long, grey-green with reddish-purple veins.[4]

At the northern edge of its range in England, it has always been rare, and is now extinct.[4][5]

References

  1. "BSBI List 2007". Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-02-25. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  2. Germplasm Resources Information Network: Euphorbia peplis
  3. Flora Europaea: Euphorbia peplis
  4. 1 2 3 Blamey, M. & Grey-Wilson, C. (1989). Flora of Britain and Northern Europe. ISBN 0-340-40170-2
  5. Pearman, D. A. & Preston, C. D. (2002). The last British record of Euphorbia peplis. BSBI News 91: 25.


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