Petty Spurge
Petty Spurge (Euphorbia peplus) aka Cancer Weed is a small non native annual herb. Its milky sap contains harmful substances.
Jerry Spencer 
Petty Spurge (Euphorbia peplus) aka Cancer Weed is a small non native annual herb. Its milky sap contains harmful substances, and if the sap gets on your skin it becomes red and blisters. It also stings and burns the eyes if they come into contact with it.
Why is Petty Spurge a Weed?
- It is invasive. It quickly establishes in gardens, and forms dense patches.
- Many herbicides fail to control it, and hence it has spread rapidly in many parts of the world.
- The sap of Petty Spurge is a skin irritant.
Petty Spuge (Euphorbia peplus) is one of the most common search queries on the QLD Poisons information Centre website.
People call it Cancer Weed, because of ongoing studies into its sap for the treatment of skin cancer, leukemia, warts and sunspots.
Petty spurge (Euphorbia peplus) is regarded as an environmental weed in parts of WA, SA, VIC and NSW.
