BEWARE THE PETTY SPURGE

We can file this one under "lessons learned." While weeding yesterday, I came across the season's first crop of Petty Spurge, or Euphorbia peplus, and was reminded of my experience with it almost exactly a year ago.



I was, once again, weeding. I found a large patch of this plant and, not knowing what it was, searched my books to no avail in an attempt to identify it.



Let me tell you the least reliable approach to determining what is edible and what is not: "hmmm, it looks like it should be edible." I realize this is about the worst criteria one could possibly use, but that day, my little patch of Petty Spurge indeed looked like it might be quite tasty.



White milky sap oozed from the stem when I broke some off. Was it bitter like dandelion milk? One little taste can't hurt. I briefly touched the tip of the stem to my tongue. It was bitter alright. I promptly spit it out. So much for this plant making it onto the list of salad weeds.



A few minutes later, I noticed my tongue was feeling warmish, as though I'd eaten a jalapeno. It spread to the rest of my mouth and increased in intensity. A couple hours later, my entire mouth felt prickly, warm and slightly numb. Uh oh.



Back to the books ~ I was now highly motivated to dig a little deeper. I found my plant on a list of noxious weeds: Euphorbia peplus. Not only is it unedible and somewhat poisonous, I learned the milky sap is used to remove warts and melanoma's! That certainly explained the fire going on in my mouth.



I crossed my fingers the sensations wouldn't become any more intense, and they didn't. A few hours later I was back to normal. But the lesson lingered and I felt humbled by it.



For a bit more information about this interesting plant, check out this website. http://www.pettyspurge.com/



Would I taste another unknown plant again? Unless it was a mushroom (some qualify as very deadly), yes, I would again taste. But next time I'll be a little less cavalier about the whole thing, a little more guarded, a little more diligent in my pre-tasting attempts to identify the thing.



Next time you have a wart you want removed, you might try using this plant. Just don't get it near your eyes as it also causes blindness. And for heaven's sake, don't get it in your mouth.