Euphorbia villosa, Waldst. & Kit. ex Willd.

12. E. villosa Waldst. & Kit. ex Willd. View in CoL View at ENA , Sp. Pl. 2: 909 (1800)

( E. pilosa auct. eur., non L.; incl. E. austriaca A. Kemer , E. carpatica Woloszczak , E. semivillosa Prokh. , E. tauricola Prokh. ).

Stout, glabrous or pubescent, rhizomatous perennial 30-120 cm. Stems numerous, often with non-flowering branches as well as axillary umbels, scaly below. Leaves oblong, oblonglanceolate to oblong-ovate or elliptical, 2-6 times as long as wide, obtuse to acute, often mucronate, entire, or serrulate near apex. Ray-leaves ovate, obtuse, mucronate; raylet-leaves smaller and relatively wider, yellowish. Rays (4)5 or more, trichotomous and then dichotomous. Capsule 3-6 mm, smooth, minutely tuberculate or with tubercles longer than broad ( E. carpatica }, glabrous to densely villous. Seeds 2*5-3*2 mm, smooth, brown. Damp meadows, open woods and river-banks. S.E., S. & E.C. Europe, extending northwards to C. Russia and N.W. France. Al Au fB r Bu Cz G a Ge G r Hs Hu It Ju Po Rm Rs (C, W, K, E). Variable in leaf-shape, indumentum and development of tubercles on the capsule. Several variants occupying limited areas have been described as species, e.g. E. austriaca A. Kerner , Sched. FI. Exsicc. Austro-Hung. 3: 62 (1884) and E. carpatica Woloszczak , Spraw. Kom. Fizyogr. Krakow. 27: 153 (1892), but intermediates between them occur. It may be possible to recognize subspecies, but a thorough investigation of the whole complex is needed. E. pilosa L. is an Asiatic species.