caper spurge
caper spurge noun: an erect, biennial spurge native to southern Europe, northern Africa, and southwest Asia into central Asia, of species Euphorbia lathyris.
Noun
caper spurge (plural caper spurges)
- An erect, biennial spurge native to southern Europe, northern Africa, and southwest Asia into central Asia, of species Euphorbia lathyris.
- The common name, Caper Spurge, alludes to the resemblance of the spongy capsules to capers, which are young flower buds from quite a different plant, Capparis. Caper Spurge fruits were mistakenly pickled by several women and when ingested caused severe illness.1986 January 1, Thomas C. Fuller, Elizabeth May McClintock, Poisonous Plants of California, Univ of California Press, →ISBN, page 136
- "Sounds delightful," Ada said. She looked uneasy. "Have you ever heard of caper spurge poisoning?"
- "Yes, when we go to Mt. Etna, Tazio tells me not to pick the capers with the purple flowers. What do you know about caper spurge?"2015 September, Roger Corea, chapter 4, in The Duesenberg Caper, SelectBooks, Inc., →ISBN
Forms of caper spurge
| plural | caper spurges |
|---|
Origin of caper spurge
Named for the resemblance of its toxic fruits to those of the edible caperberry (Capparis spinosa).
Questions about caper spurge
- What does caper spurge mean?
- Caper spurge means an erect, biennial spurge native to southern Europe, northern Africa, and southwest Asia into central Asia, of species Euphorbia lathyris.
- What part of speech is caper spurge?
- Caper spurge is a noun.
- What is the plural of caper spurge?
- The plural of caper spurge is caper spurges.
Words near caper spurge in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: caper spurge (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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