Spouse is desperate to know what this plant is.

http://i5.tinypic.com/167nktv.jpg

It grew in our garden last year as a volunteer, we left it because it had
such an interesting form. this grows right at the edge of a trodden earth
path, next to a concrete block

The flower is tiny, just a few stamens. The leaf stems have a bluish bloom
which doesn't show on the picture. This specimen is about three feet high
(1m).
It seeded last year and there have been several seedlings which we've had to
pull out to plant vegetables.

It would be nice to know.

Mary

p.s. I tried sending this last night, my sent items box says it went but it
didn't appear on my ng screen. If this is a duplicate I apologise.

On 30/6/06 12:48, in article ,
"Mary Fisher" wrote:

Spouse is desperate to know what this plant is.

http://i5.tinypic.com/167nktv.jpg

It grew in our garden last year as a volunteer, we left it because it had
such an interesting form. this grows right at the edge of a trodden earth
path, next to a concrete block

The flower is tiny, just a few stamens. The leaf stems have a bluish bloom
which doesn't show on the picture. This specimen is about three feet high
(1m).
It seeded last year and there have been several seedlings which we've had to
pull out to plant vegetables.

It would be nice to know.

Mary

p.s. I tried sending this last night, my sent items box says it went but it
didn't appear on my ng screen. If this is a duplicate I apologise.



It's a wild Euphorbia which, IME, never comes to much. It's the one they
call caper spurge, I think (Euphorbia lathyrus). But don't try pickling
those seeds!

--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(email address on website)

"Sacha" wrote in message
...
On 30/6/06 12:48, in article
,
"Mary Fisher" wrote:

Spouse is desperate to know what this plant is.

http://i5.tinypic.com/167nktv.jpg

It grew in our garden last year as a volunteer, we left it because it had
such an interesting form. this grows right at the edge of a trodden earth
path, next to a concrete block

The flower is tiny, just a few stamens. The leaf stems have a bluish
bloom
which doesn't show on the picture. This specimen is about three feet high
(1m).
It seeded last year and there have been several seedlings which we've had
to
pull out to plant vegetables.

It would be nice to know.

Mary

p.s. I tried sending this last night, my sent items box says it went but
it
didn't appear on my ng screen. If this is a duplicate I apologise.



It's a wild Euphorbia which, IME, never comes to much. It's the one they
call caper spurge, I think (Euphorbia lathyrus). But don't try pickling
those seeds!

Thank you for that - but we think it's a fascinating plant, he wouldn't have
me pull it out.

I'll tell him, he'll be pleased.

Mary

My mother-in-law says if you have spurge growing you won't get moles. Something I am unable to prove as we don't have any moles.

Mary Fisher wrote in message
t...

"Sacha" wrote in message
...
On 30/6/06 12:48, in article
,
"Mary Fisher" wrote:

Spouse is desperate to know what this plant is.

http://i5.tinypic.com/167nktv.jpg

It grew in our garden last year as a volunteer, we left it because it
had
such an interesting form. this grows right at the edge of a trodden
earth
path, next to a concrete block

The flower is tiny, just a few stamens. The leaf stems have a bluish
bloom
which doesn't show on the picture. This specimen is about three feet
high
(1m).
It seeded last year and there have been several seedlings which we've
had
to
pull out to plant vegetables.

It would be nice to know.

Mary

p.s. I tried sending this last night, my sent items box says it went
but
it
didn't appear on my ng screen. If this is a duplicate I apologise.



It's a wild Euphorbia which, IME, never comes to much. It's the one
they
call caper spurge, I think (Euphorbia lathyrus). But don't try pickling
those seeds!

Thank you for that - but we think it's a fascinating plant, he wouldn't
have
me pull it out.

I'll tell him, he'll be pleased.

Mary


It can leave a nasty burn on the skin if you get the sap on you and don't
wash it off right away.

"fenwoman" wrote in message
...

It's a wild Euphorbia which, IME, never comes to much. It's the one
they
call caper spurge, I think (Euphorbia lathyrus). But don't try
pickling
those seeds!

Thank you for that - but we think it's a fascinating plant, he wouldn't
have
me pull it out.

I'll tell him, he'll be pleased.

Mary


It can leave a nasty burn on the skin if you get the sap on you and don't
wash it off right away.

So I understand from various websites - having learned the name.

To date it hasn't had any effect on either of us but we haven't cut it so
haven't been in contact with the sap. It seems pretty tough :-)

Mind you, several plants are reputed to have that effect but don't with us.
The only thing which causes irritation with me (apart from nettles of
course) are tomatoes. I deal with mine every day and have learned to wash my
hands and arms thoroughly immediately afterwards. Spouse reacts very
seriously to propolis but I don't.

We had no intention of trying to eat the seeds. The hens ignore it too.
There must be something instinctive ...

Mary

"trin" wrote in message
...

My mother-in-law says if you have spurge growing you won't get moles.
Something I am unable to prove as we don't have any moles.

I think we should call it elephant spurge!

I'd love to have moles ;-(

Mary


--
trin

"Sacha" wrote in message
...
On 30/6/06 12:48, in article
,
"Mary Fisher" wrote:

Spouse is desperate to know what this plant is.

http://i5.tinypic.com/167nktv.jpg

It grew in our garden last year as a volunteer, we left it because it had
such an interesting form. this grows right at the edge of a trodden earth
path, next to a concrete block

The flower is tiny, just a few stamens. The leaf stems have a bluish
bloom
which doesn't show on the picture. This specimen is about three feet high
(1m).
It seeded last year and there have been several seedlings which we've had
to
pull out to plant vegetables.

It would be nice to know.

Mary

p.s. I tried sending this last night, my sent items box says it went but
it
didn't appear on my ng screen. If this is a duplicate I apologise.



It's a wild Euphorbia which, IME, never comes to much. It's the one they
call caper spurge, I think (Euphorbia lathyrus). But don't try pickling
those seeds!

--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(email address on website)


Was not this the plant that David Poole mentioned as illustrating the
North/South divide? Up here it's supposed to be biennial and in the south an
annual.
I am surprised you find the thing never comes to much. As the picture shows
it is quite an unusual and strange beast. Did you mean the flowers are
insignificant or is this the one thing we Northerners grow better you:-)

"Mary Fisher" wrote in message
t...

"trin" wrote in message
...

My mother-in-law says if you have spurge growing you won't get moles.
Something I am unable to prove as we don't have any moles.

I think we should call it elephant spurge!

I'd love to have moles ;-(

Mary


--
trin


Is that to go with the warts on your nose you old witch:-)
Sorry momentary lapse got you mixed up with The Life and Loves of a
She-Devil. Mary fisher (Pat Hodge) was the pretty one.

It can leave a nasty burn on the skin if you get the sap on you and don't
wash it off right away.

So I understand from various websites - having learned the name.

To date it hasn't had any effect on either of us but we haven't cut it so
haven't been in contact with the sap. It seems pretty tough :-)

Every time I see this plant mentioned I tell peeps to be careful, I
have had two bad reactions to the sap and still have the scars to prove
it

kate

On 30/6/06 21:53, in article , "Rupert (W.Yorkshire)"
wrote:


"Sacha" wrote in message
...

snip
It's a wild Euphorbia which, IME, never comes to much. It's the one they
call caper spurge, I think (Euphorbia lathyrus). But don't try pickling
those seeds!



Was not this the plant that David Poole mentioned as illustrating the
North/South divide? Up here it's supposed to be biennial and in the south an
annual.
I am surprised you find the thing never comes to much. As the picture shows
it is quite an unusual and strange beast. Did you mean the flowers are
insignificant or is this the one thing we Northerners grow better you:-)


Impossible! ;-) But no, it's not a very exciting Euphorbia, given all the
others we can and do grow! I quite like its greenness but I don't like its
invasiveness. Normally, I welcome plants that seed themselves all over the
place but I did pull a lot of these out earlier this year.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(email address on website)

In message , Mary Fisher
writes

p.s. I tried sending this last night, my sent items box says it went
but it didn't appear on my ng screen. If this is a duplicate I
apologise.

It is a duplicate. (I replied to the original.) If one of your messages
doesn't come back to you, one strategy is to visit groups.google.com, or
any other public web interface to UseNet - perhaps GardenBanter has its
uses :-) - and see if it has appeared there.
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley

Sacha wrote:

But no, it's not a very exciting Euphorbia, given all the
others we can and do grow! I quite like its greenness but I don't like its
invasiveness.

I rather like it, especially in its early phases when it appears as a
40-60 cms. high stem with its leaves arranged in opposite pairs;
criss-cross fashion. In others' gardens mind you, not mine! It loses
the plot once flowering is under way and if you want a few seeding
themselves about, you have to turn a very blind eye as it declines.

When I first came here, such soil as there was consisted of a thin
scrape of dust, lumps of ancient mortar and stones overlying mudstone.
All that grew were Valerian, Caper Spurge and a few clumps of Sedum
dendroideum 'Prealtum' (a shrubby succulent from Mexico that is an
'escaped' pot plant in coastal regions of S. Devon). The spurge
disappeared immediately soil conditions were improved and made more
acidic - unable to compete with more lush and interesting stuff. It
seems to do best where the soil is dry and somewhat alkaline, but is
easily hoed out if you don't want it.

As to its alleged mole-repellant qualities, my experience is that it
simply does not work. My parent's old garden near Stourbridge was
plagued with moles and Caper Spurge was introduced as a last-ditch
attempt before adopting much sterner methods of control. It was a
complete failure and I swear that mole activity was increased close to
where the spurges were planted.

"fenwoman" wrote
It can leave a nasty burn on the skin if you get the sap on you and don't
wash it off right away.

I don't seem to react to it at, but found this at
http://www.the-tree.org.uk/Enchanted...aperspurge.htm


As so often Mrs. Grieve has some interesting information for us on this
plant, including The use of Spurge Laurel by beggars to produce sores:
"Has a milky juice of an acrid nature. Its seeds yield an abundance of fine
clear oil called oil of Euphorbia; this is obtained by expression or by the
action of alcohol or ether, and is colourless, inodorous, and almost
insipid; it rapidly becomes rancid, and acquires a dangerous acrimony. The
oil is a very violent poison, producing violent purgation and having an
irritating effect upon the mucous membrane of the intestinal canal, and
especially on the larger intestines; the oil resembles croton oil. In doses
of 5 drops it is said to be less acrid and irritating than croton oil; it
must be recently extracted. The seeds to the number of twelve or fifteen
are used by country people in France as a purgative.
The root of the plant is equally purgative and emetic; the leaves are
vesicant and are used by beggars to produce ulcers by which to excite pity;
the juice is depilatory; the seeds contain aesculin in the free state."

Jenny

On Fri, 30 Jun 2006 15:48:32 +0000, trin
wrote:

My mother-in-law says if you have spurge growing you won't get moles.
Something I am unable to prove as we don't have any moles.

This has come up before. I was told it would deter moles, and at that
time I had moles on my allotment, and the caper-spurge was self
seeding. The moles just went round it!
Then I heard on GQT that it was as a remedy for moles on the skin
which gave it it's name, "mole plant". It seems logical that it's sap
might have been used this way.
If you disagree, as someone did before, take it up with GQT!
Incidentally, I have no moles on the allotment now, but no
caper-spurge either!

Pam in Bristol