170 Euphorbia
Euphorbia peplus Linnaeus
petty spurge, wartweed
Europe, north-western Asia, North Africa, Azores; introduced into
North America, Australasia
Euphorbia hyberna Linnaeus
Irish spurge
south-western Europe
Euphorbia paralias Linnaeus
sea spurge
southern and Atlantic Europe, Siberia, North Africa; introduced into
North America, Australia
Euphorbia lathyrus Linnaeus
caper spurge
southern and central Europe, Morocco, Azores (status doubtful);
introduced into North America, Australasia
Euphorbia amygdaloides Linnaeus
wood spurge
central and southern Europe, Algeria; introduced into
New Zealand
The corrosive milky juice of several of the species of the genus Euphorbia
found in the British Isles is credited well-nigh universally with the ability to
remove warts. Sun spurge (E. helioscopia) is the one most often cited in that
connection, but petty spurge (E. peplus), the commoner as a garden weed, has
probably often substituted for it. In southern and western Ireland, Irish
spurge (E. hyberna) enjoyed a reputation as the most efficacious for the pur-
pose,^119 in Scilly sea spurge (E. paralias) is known to have served instead,^120
while in north-eastern England^121 caper spurge (E. lathyrus) and in Limer-
ick^122 some species surely misidentified as wood spurge (E. amygdaloides)
have been yet further alternatives. In general, though, the species resorted to
was probably immaterial; whichever happened to be handy was used. The
one exception may have been E. hyberna,for a medical correspondent of John
Ray’s, writing from Tipperary in 1697, reported that the root of that was
sometimes boiled in Ireland to produce a purge but was liable to give rise to
severe convulsions followed by early death.^123 By the nineteenth century it
seems to have become accepted that it was suitable for giving only to live-