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Euphorbia helioscopia

Common name:	Madwoman's Milk	Family:	Euphorbiaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	17
Synonyms:	Euphorbia lunulata
Known Hazards:	The sap contains a latex which is toxic on ingestion and highly irritant externally, causing photosensitive skin reactions and severe inflammation, especially on contact with eyes or open cuts. The toxicity can remain high even in dried plant material[200]. Prolonged and regular contact with the sap is inadvisable because of its carcinogenic nature[214].
Range:	Europe, including Britain, south to the Mediterranean and east to central Asia.
Habitat:	Common in cultivated ground throughout Britain to an altitude of 450 metres[17].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	1	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	Galarhoeus helioscopius[B,P] Tithymalus helioscopius[B,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Churnstaff [H], Erba Calanzola [E], Herbe Aux Verrues [E], Khannaiq Ad Dijaj [E], Kroontjeskruid [D,E], Lu Yeh Lu Hua Ts'Ao [E], Mad-woman's-milk [B], Madwoman's Milk [P], Maleiteira [E], Mamona [E], Mao Erh Yen Ching Ts'Ao [E], Reveil Matin [E], Reveye [E], Seven Sisters [H], Sonnenwendige Wolfsmilch [E], Spurge,Sun [E], Sun Spurge [H,L], Tse Ch'I [E], Turnsole,Small [E], Tyranneste [E], Um Al Halib [E], Us Al Kalbah [E], Wart Spurge [H], Wartweed [L], Wolf'S Milk [E], Wolfsmilch [E], Ze Qi [E],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Euphorbiales. Spurge family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Belgium Britain China Finland France France Germany India Iraq Italy Japan Netherlands Portugal South Africa Spain Us

Physical Characteristics

Annual growing to 0.35m. . It is in flower from May to October. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Flies. We rate it 1/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Cultivated Beds.

Edible Uses

Stem Tea.

Young stems - cooked[177, 179, 183]. Caution is advised, see the notes above on toxicity.
Young leaves are used as a tea substitute[177, 183].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Anthelmintic Antiperiodic Cancer Febrifuge.

Antiperiodic[178].
The leaves and stems are febrifuge and vermifuge[218].
The root is anthelmintic[240].
The plant is cathartic[240]. It has anticancer properties[218].
The milky sap is applied externally to skin eruptions[240].
The seeds, mixed with roasted pepper, have been used in the treatment of cholera[240]. The oil from the seeds has purgative properties[240].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Prefers a light well-drained moderately rich loam in an open position[200]. Succeeds in dry soils.
Hybridizes with other members of this genus[200]. The ripe seed is released explosively from the seed capsules[200].
Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer or rabbits[233].
This genus has been singled out as a potential source of latex (for making rubber) for the temperate zone, although no individual species has been singled out[141].

Propagation

Seed - sow spring or late summer in situ. Germination usually takes place within 2 - 3 weeks at 20° c.

Suppliers

Plants For A Future is working with the following groups to try and make these plants easily available. Parts of the proceeds will be donated to so please mention us when ordering.

Wildwood Nurseries: Lower Manor Cottage
Thornbury
Holsworthy
Devon
EX22 7DD
Email: lorna@macace.co.uk
Phone 01409 261324 Fax 01409 261324
Distribution: UK
How to order: Direct from Wildwood by email/phone
Last Updated: March 03
Item: Euphorbia amygdaloides (wood spurge)

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for the family Euphorbiaceae.

[CHINA] Draft Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[141] Carruthers. S. P. (Editor) Alternative Enterprises for Agriculture in the UK. Centre for Agricultural Strategy, Univ. of Reading 1986 ISBN 0704909820
Some suggested alternative commercial crops for Britain. Readable. Produced by a University study group.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[178] Stuart. Rev. G. A. Chinese Materia Medica. Taipei. Southern Materials Centre
A translation of an ancient Chinese herbal. Fascinating.

[179] Reid. B. E. Famine Foods of the Chiu-Huang Pen-ts'ao. Taipei. Southern Materials Centre 1977
A translation of an ancient Chinese book on edible wild foods. Fascinating.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[214] Matthews. V. The New Plantsman. Volume 1, 1994. Royal Horticultural Society 1994 ISBN 1352-4186
A quarterly magazine, it has articles on Himalayacalamus hookerianus, hardy Euphorbias and an excellent article on Hippophae spp.

[218] Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985 ISBN 0-917256-20-4
Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.

[233] Thomas. G. S. Perennial Garden Plants J. M. Dent & Sons, London. 1990 ISBN 0 460 86048 8
A concise guide to a wide range of perennials. Lots of cultivation guides, very little on plant uses.

[240] Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. 1986
Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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