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Euphorbia helioscopia
Also called Sun Spurge, Umbrella milkweed, Summer Spurge, Wartweed, Wart Spurge, Wolf's Milk, Madwoman’s Milk
Sun spurge, madwoman's milk, is a low-growing annual weed of arable land and disturbed ground, native to Europe, North Africa and much of Asia. It is grown only as a wild plant, not as an ornamental, so the key is to manage it rather than cultivate it.
Euphorbia helioscopia, the sun spurge or madwoman's milk, is a species of flowering plant in the spurge family Euphorbiaceae. It is a herbaceous annual plant, native to most of Europe, northern Africa, and eastward through most of Asia.
Additional folk names include wart spurge, summer spurge, umbrella milkweed, and wolf's-milk.
Euphorbia helioscopia contains toxic diterpenes and diterpenoids and phorbol esters. These substances are the major skin irritants found in the plant. The plant is considered poisonous when eaten raw. Nausea, allergic reactions, skin irritation, vomiting may occur after eating.
A number of tannins can be found in E. helioscopia. Helioscopinin-A shows anti-allergic and anti-asthmatic activities in guinea pigs. It is suggested that this compound exerts its activities through antagonism on leukotriene D4-induced responses.
Active ingredients extracted from Euphorbia helioscopia are used in pharmaceutical industry. The plant is used in Chinese traditional medicine.
Abd Al Kuri Euphorbia · Desert Candle · Greek Spiny Spurge · Euphorbia actinoclada · Miniature Saguaro · Pincushion Euphorbia · Euphorbia alcicornis · Euphorbia alfredii · Euphorbia ambarivatoensis · Euphorbia ambovombensis · African candelabra · Euphorbia ampliphylla
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Euphorbia helioscopia by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
