Petty spurge
General poisoning notes:
Petty spurge (Euphorbia peplus) is a naturalized herb found across Canada. This plant contains a caustic and irritant chemical in the latex, which causes burning and inflammation of skin and eyes. Ingestion results in complications. Family pets should not be allowed to ingest this plant. Experimental poisoning occurred in a calf that was fed petty spurge (Kingsbury 1964).
Nomenclature:
Scientific Name: Euphorbia peplus L.
Vernacular name(s): petty spurge
Scientific family name: Euphorbiaceae
Vernacular family name: spurge
Euphorbia peplus L.
Geographic Information
British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan.
Toxic parts:
Latex.
Notes on Toxic plant chemicals:
Petty spurge contains a toxic diterpene, 5-deoxyingenol, as well as ingenol (Frohne and Pfander 1983).
Toxic plant chemicals:
5-deoxyingenol
Animals/Human Poisoning:
Note: When an animal is listed without additional information, the literature (as of 1993) contained no detailed explanation.
Cattle
General symptoms of poisoning:
Salivation.
Notes on poisoning:
Experimental feeding of petty spurge caused blood-stained feces and excessive salivation in a calf (Kingsbury 1964).
Humans
General symptoms of poisoning:
eye, discharge of
mouth, irritation of
Notes on poisoning:
Skin and mucous membrane irritation result from contact with the latex. Severe eye irritation also occurs (Fuller and McClintock 1986).
