Latin Name: Euphorbia peplus

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Description: An annual herb, up to 30 cm tall. It often has 2 branches from the base. The leaves on the stem are alternate. The leaf blades are 1-2 cm long and up to 1 cm wide.

Edibility Rating out of 5: 0

Medicinal Rating out of 5: 4

Medicinal Information: The plant’s sap is toxic to rapidly-replicating human tissue, and has long been used as a traditional remedy for common skin lesions, including cancer. The active ingredient in the sap is a diterpene ester called ingenol mebutate. A pharmaceutical-grade ingenol mebutate gel has approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for treatment of actinic keratosis.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Wikispiecies