spurge

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spurge

 (spûrj)
n.
Any of numerous herbs, shrubs, or trees of the genus Euphorbia, characteristically having milky juice and a cluster of small unisexual flowers that are surrounded by a cuplike structure composed of fused bracts. Also called euphorbia.

[Middle English, from Old French espurge, from espurgier, to purge (from its use as a purgative), from Latin expūrgāre; see expurgate.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

spurge

(spɜːdʒ)
n
(Plants) any of various euphorbiaceous plants of the genus Euphorbia that have milky sap and small flowers typically surrounded by conspicuous bracts. Some species have purgative properties
[C14: from Old French espurge, from espurgier to purge, from Latin expurgāre to cleanse, from ex-1 + purgāre to purge]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

spurge

(spɜrdʒ)

n.
any of numerous plants of the genus Euphorbia, having flowers with no petals or sepals.
[1350–1400; Middle English < Middle French espurge, n. derivative of espurgier to cleanse < Latin expurgāre. See ex-1, purge]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.spurge - any of numerous plants of the genus Euphorbiaspurge - any of numerous plants of the genus Euphorbia; usually having milky often poisonous juice
Euphorbia, genus Euphorbia - type genus of the Euphorbiaceae: very large genus of diverse plants all having milky juice
caper spurge, Euphorbia lathyris, myrtle spurge, mole plant - poisonous Old World spurge; adventive in America; seeds yield a purgative oil
Euphorbia helioscopia, sun spurge, wartweed, wartwort, devil's milk - not unattractive European weed whose flowers turn toward the sun
devil's milk, Euphorbia peplus, petty spurge - an Old World spurge introduced as a weed in the eastern United States
Euphorbia caput-medusae, Euphorbia medusae, medusa's head - African dwarf succulent perennial shrub with numerous slender drooping branches
Euphorbia corollata, flowering spurge, tramp's spurge, wild spurge - common perennial United States spurge having showy white petallike bracts
Euphorbia marginata, ghost weed, snow-in-summer, snow-on-the-mountain - annual spurge of western United States having showy white-bracted flower clusters and very poisonous milk
cypress spurge, Euphorbia cyparissias - Old World perennial having foliage resembling cypress; naturalized as a weed in the United States
Euphorbia esula, leafy spurge, wolf's milk - tall European perennial naturalized and troublesome as a weed in eastern North America
Euphorbia hirsuta, hairy spurge - much-branched hirsute weed native to northeastern North America
Christmas flower, Christmas star, Euphorbia pulcherrima, lobster plant, Mexican flameleaf, poinsettia, painted leaf - tropical American plant having poisonous milk and showy tapering usually scarlet petallike leaves surrounding small yellow flowers
Euphorbia heterophylla, Japanese poinsettia, mole plant, paint leaf - showy poinsettia found from the southern United States to Peru
Euphorbia cyathophora, fire-on-the-mountain, Mexican fire plant, painted leaf - poinsettia of United States and eastern Mexico; often confused with Euphorbia heterophylla
Euphorbia amygdaloides, wood spurge - European perennial herb with greenish yellow terminal flower clusters
Euphorbia antisyphilitica, candelilla - wax-coated shrub of northern Mexico and southwestern United States
dwarf spurge, Euphorbia exigua - European erect or depressed annual weedy spurge adventive in northeastern United States
Euphorbia fulgens, scarlet plume - Mexican shrub often cultivated for its scarlet-bracted flowers
cactus euphorbia, Euphorbia ingens, naboom - small tree of dry open parts of southern Africa having erect angled branches suggesting candelabra
Christ plant, Christ thorn, Euphorbia milii, crown of thorns - somewhat climbing bushy spurge of Madagascar having long woody spiny stems with few leaves and flowers with scarlet bracts
Euphorbia dentata, toothed spurge - an annual weed of northeastern North America with dentate leaves
bush, shrub - a low woody perennial plant usually having several major stems
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations
vortemælk

spurge

[spɜːdʒ] Neuforbio m
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

spurge

n (Bot) → Wolfsmilch f; spurge laurelLorbeerseidelbast m
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

spurge

[spɜːdʒ] neuforbia
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
References in periodicals archive ?
Euphorbia griffithii is at its fieriest Euphorbia griffithii is at its fieriest in late spring and many other spurges reach their peak simultaneously.
EUPHORBIAS range from native spurges regarded as weeds to ornamental shrubs with long-lasting, colourful bracts.
TIME-SAVING TIP: If yourgarden is being invaded by rabbits, the only way to protect your flowers and crops is to invest in a fence of wire netting - or grow rabbit-proof plants such as fritillaries, peonies, tulips, spurges and most members of the buttercup family.
The fact that this latex usually contains allergy-inducing toxins hasn't stopped aficionados from cultivating scores of spurges as ornamental houseplants.
Bennett's looking for weeds with names like spurges and thistles, and for the disease-causing organisms that infect them.
One of the best spurges, which One of the best spurges, which will thrive happily in shade, is Euphorbia martinii, a hybrid between Euphorbia amygdaloides, our native wood spurge, and the glaucous Mediterranean Euphorbia characias or wulfenii.
Euphorbia griffithii is at its fieriest in late spring, along with many other spurges. Euphorbia palustris, another spurge that revels in damp conditions, is clearly visible from yards away.
Ajuga, the bugle, with blue flowers in spring and summer Bergenia, the winter-flowering 'pigsqueak' with elephant-ear leaves and pink blooms Brunnera or Anchusa, with small blue May flowers Euphorbia robbiae, one of the cultivated spurges, flowering yellow or green, also in May Hostas, one of the most effective shade plants with variegated and white or mauve flowers Iris foetidissima, with purple flowers in June and red seeds Lamium maculatum, one of the dead-nettles but attractive for all that.
The key to controlling leafy spurge in this country is importing insects and diseases from the native land of spurges to infest the various leafy spurge types.
There are some hardy species, commonly referred to as spurges, many with acid green or yellow flowers (actually bracts) eg euphorbia myrsinites and E.