AUSTRALIAN
NATUROPATHIC NETWORK
Serving
the community since 1998
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Departments » Herbal Medicine » Materia Medica » Euphorbia peplus |
Note - the monographs are provided for informational purposes only, and are not to be used for self-medication.
Euphorbia peplus (Radium weed)
| Botanic Name | Euphorbia peplus |
| Common Name | Radium weed, petty spurge, cancer weed, Milkweed, Wart-weed, Radium plant |
| Family | Euphorbiaceae |
| Habitat | Gardens, pavements, waste places. Native to Europe, temperate Asia and north Africa, petty spurge is now a weed throughout temperate and subtropical regions of the world. (RD) |
| Description | Small annual. The simple or branched stems, from 4 to 12 inches high, bear alternate, obovate to roundish petioled leaves; the upper floral leaves are ovate. The bell-shaped flowers feature large yellow glands with spreading, narrow horns. (Lust) Both stem and leaves ooze a milky latex when broken (Bushell) |
| Similar Plants | Stellaria media (Chickweed), Cerastium glomeratum (Mouse ear Chickweed) |
| Parts Used | Latex (topically only) (Bushell) |
| History | Traditionally the latex has been used to remove warts (Lassak) |
| Constituents | Flavonoids, Tannins, Anthraquinones, Sterols and triterpenes (Bushell) |
| Actions | Traditional
- Purgative, Expectorant, Anthelmintic (Bushell)
Anti-inflammatory but also pro-inflammatory (Bushell) Antipyretic (Bushell) |
| Applications | External
use only
Warts, collouses, sun cancers/spots(RD),(Bushell) |
| Dosage | External use only |
| Combinations | |
| C/I Cautions | External
use only
Don’t apply to healthy skin, eyes or tongues – burns/blinds(RD),(Bushell) |
| BHP S/I |
It is a strong cathartic, working violently by vomit and stool, but is very offensive to the stomach and bowels, by reason of its sharp corrosive quality, and therefore ought to be used with caution. - Culpeper