Euphorbia marginata
Pursh.
Snow on the mountain
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What to Eat
A latex from the plant is used for chewing. Caution is advised given the plant's toxicity.
Known Hazards
Where to Find It
It is a temperate plant. In Argentina it grows below 500 m above sea level. In Sichuan and Yunnan.
Argentina, Asia, Brazil, China, North America*, Slovenia, USA,
How to Identify
A herb. It grows each year from seeds. It grows 60-90 cm tall. Many stems come from the base. The leaves are alternate and without leaf stalks. The leaves are 5-7 cm long by 3 cm wide.
How to Grow
Prefers a light well-drained moderately rich loam in an open position. Succeeds in dry soils. The ripe seed is released explosively from the seed capsules. Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer or rabbits.
Propagation: Sow seed in spring in situ. Germination usually takes place within 2–3 weeks at 20°C.
Medicinal Uses
The plant is astringent and used for women's complaints, including the treatment of leucorrhoea. An infusion of the crushed leaves has been used as a liniment for swellings. An infusion of the plant has been used to increase milk flow in nursing mothers. Any medicinal use should be carried out with great care given the plant's toxicity.
Other Uses
The plant produces a latex and has been noted as a potential rubber source for the temperate zone, though no individual species in the genus has been singled out. It is a highly ornamental plant whose long-lasting flowers are used in buttonholes. It hybridizes with other members of the genus and functions as a dynamic accumulator.
Wikipedia
Source ↗Euphorbia marginata (commonly known as snow-on-the-mountain, smoke-on-the-prairie, variegated spurge, or whitemargined spurge) is a small annual in the spurge family. It is native to parts of temperate North America, from Eastern Canada to the Southwestern United States. It is naturalized throughout much of China. The type specimen was collected in Rosebud County, Montana from the area of the Yellowstone River by William Clark during the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
Names & Synonyms
References (2)
- Kermath, B. M., et al, 2014, Food Plants in the Americas: A survey of the domesticated, cultivated and wild plants used for Human food in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean. On line draft. p 361
- Moerman, D. F., 2010, Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press. p 230
