Flowering Spurge © William Britten use with permission only

Flowering Spurge (Euphorbia corollata) is a large, bushy plant with many small flowers. It favors fields, roadsides, and open woods.  The picture above was taken along the Cades Cove Loop Road in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  The image picture was in the Greenbrier section along Porters Creek Trail. Look for Flowering Spurge in mid to late summer.

This plant has a few nicknames, such as Go Quick, Purging Root, and Emetic Root. From these names you may be able to deduce the plant’s purported medicinal value. A doctor in reported in 1817 that it was among the “most efficient of the evacuating class” of plants.

Please stop in and visit me to see the complete display of Smoky Mountain Photography at the William Britten Gallery in Gatlinburg, TN.

Flowering Spurge © William Britten use with permission only