Spurge (Euphorbia), fam. Euphorbiaceae.
Small greenish-yellow flowers (actually they are inflorescences, composed of even smaller microscopic flowers), with pungent smell. Spurge grows in open sunny places in the forest, in clearings. It is toxic, has irritating action, the sap can cause burns.
Spurge genus includes hundreds of species, very diverse in their appearance. Many of them are well-adapted to life in arid conditions. Often they are grown indoors and erroneously called "cactus" due to thick stem covered with spines. There is a smooth transition from them to the species which still have thick stem but with leaves and without spines. Then there are quite normally looking plants, which do prefer relatively dry and hot places to grow. Among the latter is Variegated or Whitemargined Spurge (Euphorbia marginata), which is often met in the garden beds in late summer. White-striped inflorescences, located on the tops of branchy shoots, have slight pleasant smell, with a pungent tinge (like diluted alcohol or vinegar), which is typical for spurges.
