Euphorbia: photo of the weed, its description, useful properties, contraindications, reproduction, ways to combat wild plants

Euphorbia is a perennial plant from the family Euphorbiaceae (has more than 1000 species). His homeland is the island of Madagascar. Over time, the climate and soil composition changed, the plant gradually spread throughout the world.

About 100 species grow on the territory of Russia, the most common of them is wild euphorbia. It got its name because of the white poisonous milk located inside the stem. Next, you will learn about the beneficial properties of the plant, in which diseases it is used, about contraindications for its use and how it looks in the photo.

Botanical Description

Wild euphorbia or weed has a fleshy thick stem with large triangular leaves, on the end of which sharp spines grow. Inside the stem is juice with a toxic composition. The weed grows in height to several meters, and the area occupied by the rhizome of the territory reaches 40-50 cm in diameter. Other excerpts from the botanical description.

The root system is branched, quite powerful.
The roots of the plant grow deep in the soil and firmly strengthen there. Thanks to this, the plant can always get water.
The weed is unpretentious and grows in any soil. Rocks and swamps are no exception.
The flowering period lasts from early July to late August.
The inflorescence consists of 1 female and 10 male flowers. The flowers are cup-shaped, monoecious.
Favorable climatic conditions and the presence of moisture contribute to the rapid growth of milkweed.
In the event of severe drought, wild euphorbia wilts.

The main difference between milkweed is that when an incision is made, white viscous and sticky liquid is released from its stems. This plant is different from dandelion, thistle and other weed grass.

Photo

And this is how wild euphorbia looks in the photo:

Useful properties and contraindications

Despite its toxicity, euphorbia has useful properties. Leaves, stem, rhizome and flowers are often used for medicinal purposes. The raw materials are pre-cooked (dried in the shade and in the sun, scalded with boiling water and dried in the oven). Next, alcohol infusions, decoctions, solutions are prepared from raw materials.

The benefit of milkweed is that it has a tonic, stimulating and blood-purifying effect. Milkweed grass has a mild laxative effect. Weed juice has a diuretic, anthelmintic and anti-inflammatory effect. Earlier milkweed treated insect bites, paralysis, edema and long-healing wounds.

Important! Wild euphorbia is a poisonous plant; treatment in parts is prohibited without the consent of the doctor.

The main contraindications for use are individual intolerance, pregnancy and lactation. Also, any product based on milkweed due to the strong irritating effect is forbidden to apply to open wounds, avoid contact with mucous membranes.

What diseases is it used for?

Most often, weed is used to get rid of skin pathologies (fungal infections, eczema, lichen). When else does euphorbia help?

Getting rid of corns, removing freckles and age spots.
Gastrointestinal diseases, disorders of the nervous system, epilepsy.
Wart, lichen, growths.

The vitamins that it contains

Wild milk contains iodine to improve memory, strengthen muscles and the nervous system. In the composition of the stems and leaves there is iron - contributes to an increase in hemoglobin. The rhizome contains:

tannins;
saponins;
flavonoids;
vitamin C.

How does it breed?

Euphorbia propagates by lateral shoots and seeds, of which it has a lot. It is for this reason that weed is difficult to get rid of.

With incomplete removal of milkweed from the soil, new shoots appear on the root system. The weed begins to grow with greater strength and forms a whole bush.

Ways to fight

Weed by its nature is tenacious and unpretentious, it easily adapts to any soil. Wild euphorbia cannot be removed until its seeds are preserved in the ground. Ways to control weed.

Mechanical

You need to start the fight when the first shoots appear, in the early spring.

It is necessary to completely remove the young plant along with the root, until it begins to grow deep into the ground.
Perform all procedures with gloves in order to avoid poisonous juice on the skin. Dense fabric also protects hands from sharp spikes.
To remove the weed, you can use a shovel (dig along with the root).
It is useless to mow wild euphorbia, since the aerial part of the plant is quickly restored and is growing with renewed vigor.

Herbicides

If at an early stage it was not possible to destroy the weed, and it began to grow throughout the site, you should resort to chemicals.

First you need to remove the green part of the plant mechanically and dig a plot.
Herbicides can then be used to kill weeds. This is TASK, Napalm, Titus.
To carry out processing in calm weather, in tight clothing and a protective mask.
After processing the site, remove clothing and thoroughly wash all parts of the body with soap. If the herbicide gets into the eyes, rinsing with plenty of running water and a visit to the doctor is recommended.

Specialty chemicals

There are also drugs designed specifically for the destruction of milkweed:

Lapis lazuli.
Roundup.
Dicamboy.

For dosage and rules of use, see packaging.

Important! In the first year after the extermination of milkweed by herbicides, it is not recommended to exploit the land. During this period, the site is recommended to be planted with mustard or lupine to restore the soil.

Does it harm the surrounding plants?

The powerful root system of wild milkweed can cause irreparable harm to surrounding plants. Lateral processes intertwine with tubers and roots of neighboring plants, take away all their nutrients and moisture from them.

So, euphorbia is not only poisonous, but also a useful plant. From it you can cook a lot of healing broths, use its juice to treat skin diseases. But we should not forget that wild euphorbia has a powerful root system and can harm neighboring crops. For this reason, the weed on the site is recommended to be completely destroyed.