Sun Spurge (Euphorbia helioscopia) Science Image

Ref: spurge



Sun Spurge (Euphorbia helioscopia). Borne of an unbranched reddish stem, this spurge is an erect hairless plant with spatula shaped stalkless alternate leaves with serrated edges at their tips. The flower heads have 5 rays each divided into 3 smaller rays. The flowers are small and green and the ovaries obvious. It is found throughout Europe, but is not as common in the extreme northern areas. It is an annual and flowers from February to May to a height of around 50cm.