Snow On The Mountain Wildflower
by PainterArtist FIN
Title
Snow On The Mountain Wildflower
Artist
PainterArtist FIN
Medium
Photograph - Photograph
Description
Konza Prairie, Riley County, Kansas
Annual
Height: 12-40 inches
Family: Euphorbiaceae - Spurge Family
Flowering Period: June, July, August, September,October
Stems: Erect, stout, single, usually unbranched below inflorescences, nearly glabrous or spreading-hairy, contains milky sap.
Leaves: Alternate, simple, sessile, oblong to ovate or elliptic, 1.5 to 4 inches long, .5 to 1.25 inch wide, glabrous or somewhat hairy; margins entire; tips pointed; upper leaves reduced.
Inflorescences: Umbel-like clusters of small cup-shaped receptacles, terminal; bracts large, leaf-like, in crowded whorls below inflorescences; margins broad, white.
Flowers: Receptacles with 3-5 white petal-like appendages around lip, greenish glands at base of each appendage, containing 1 pistillate flower and 35-60 tiny staminate flowers; petals and sepals absent.
Fruits: Capsules, 3-lobed, hairy; seeds 3, egg-shaped, bumpy, dark gray.
Habitat: Prairies, roadsides, stream bottoms, and waste areas, most abundant in limestone soils.
Distribution: Throughout Kansas.
Toxicity: When damaged, snow-on-the-mountain exudes a milky sap that can cause skin irritation similar to that seen with poison ivy. Cattle normally will not graze snow-on-the-mountain due to its bitter taste, but can become debilitated and even die after eating hay containing it.
Comments: A stand of this plant can make the ground appear as if it is covered with snow. Snow-on-the-mountain is related to the poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd.).
http://www.kswildflower.org/flower_details.php?flowerID=147
Herb: Mountain Snow
Latin name: Euphorbia marginata
Family: Euphorbiaceae (Spurge Family)
Medicinal use of Mountain Snow:
Astringent, women's complaints. Used in the treatment of leucorrhoea. An infusion of the crushed leaves has been used as a liniment in the treatment of swellings. An infusion of the plant has been used to increase milk flow in nursing mothers. Any medicinal use of this plant should be carried out with great care, see the notes above on toxicity.
Description of the plant:
Plant:
Annual
Height:
60 cm
(2 feet)
Flovering:
September
Habitat of the herb:
Infrequent to locally abundant, the plant has a liking for calcareous soils of prairies, roadsides, pastures and waste places.
Edible parts of Mountain Snow:
A latex from the plant is used for chewing. Caution is advised, see the notes on toxicity above.
Propagation of the herb:
Seed - sow spring in situ. Germination usually takes place within 2 - 3 weeks at 20°C.
Cultivation of Mountain Snow:
Infrequent to locally abundant, the plant has a liking for calcareous soils of prairies, roadsides, pastures and waste places.
Known hazards of Euphorbia marginata:
The sap contains a latex which is toxic on ingestion and highly irritant externally, causing photosensitive skin reactions and severe inflammation, especially on contact with eyes or open cuts. The toxicity can remain high even in dried plant material. Prolonged and regular contact with the sap is inadvisable because of its carcinogenic nature.
Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future.
Uploaded
August 27th, 2014
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