Photographs: Ballingeary, Co. Cork

Irish Spurge Euphorbia hyberna Bainne caoin Family: Euphorbiaceae Flowering time: April-June. Perennial. Native. Bright-yellow inflorescences, the umbels 5-branched. Broadly oval bracts with oval or kidney-shaped yellow glands. Very warty fruit containing yellowish seeds. The stalkless leaves are alternate, oblong-lanceolate and untoothed on erect and unbranched stems. Slightly downy. Abundant in the south-west of Ireland on acidic soils in grassland, open woodland, roadsides and riverbanks, rare elsewhere. Part of the Lusitanian Flora

Irish Spurge, Euphorbia hyberna, Bainne caoin