spotted spurge

Noun

spotted spurge (uncountable)

1. A prostrate, annual spurge, native to North America and an invasive species throughout the rest of the world, of species Euphorbia maculata.
   • Spotted spurge can grow well in slightly dry, gravelly, or sandy soils. It doesn't grow in shade; therefore, the dense canopy of an intensively planted garden bed helps inhibit growth of any spotted spurge that germinates later in the season.2001 January 1, Jill Jesiolowski Cebenko, Deborah L. Martin, “Spotted Spurge (Euphorbia maculata)”, in Insect, Disease & Weed I.D. Guide: Find-it-fast Organic Solutions for Your Garden, Rodale...

   Synonyms:

   prostrate spurge, spotted sandmat

2. An erect, annual spurge, native to North and Central America and an invasive species in Europe, Japan, and New Zealand, of species Euphorbia nutans.
   • One always thinks of the plant as a companion of the pursley, but pursley can be eaten by man, and hogs thrive on it. Nothing eats spotted spurge. The spurges are all poisonous to a greater or less degree, and this one is fit only to hoe into the ground where it soon mixes forever with the...2013 July 24, Edwin R. Spencer, All About Weeds, Courier Corporation, →ISBN, page 149

   Synonyms:

   nodding spurge, milk purslane