Euphorbia peplis

Not to be confused with Euphorbia peplus (petty spurge), a common weed of arable land.

Euphorbia peplis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Malpighiales
Family:	Euphorbiaceae
Genus:	Euphorbia
Species:	E. peplis
Binomial name
Euphorbia peplis L.

Euphorbia peplis, the 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]

Description

A small, prostrate, hairless annual plant, the stems growing to 10–20 cm (4–8 in) long, typically with four stems from the base. The leaves are opposite, oval, 1–2 cm (0.4–0.8 in) long, grey-green, somewhat fleshy, reddish-purple veined, with oblique bases and a somewhat curved and wavy shape. Fruit capsules hairless, containing smooth 3mm seeds.[5][3]

Habitat

Sandy sea-shores, rarely inland.[3]

Range

Shores of the Mediterranean, Black, Caspian and Red Seas, Persian Gulf, Ireland (PoWo Map)

At the northern edge of its range in England, it has always been rare, and is now extinct.[4][6]

References

1. BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
2. "Euphorbia peplis". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
3. Tutin. Flora Europaea, vol. 2.
4. Blamey, M. & Grey-Wilson, C. (1989). Flora of Britain and Northern Europe. ISBN 0-340-40170-2
5. Davis. Flora of Turkey and the East Aegean Islands, vol. 7.
6. Pearman, D. A. & Preston, C. D. (2002). The last British record of Euphorbia peplis. BSBI News 91: 25.

External links

• Media related to Euphorbia peplis at Wikimedia Commons
• Data related to Euphorbia peplis at Wikispecies