Euphorbia lathyris Caper Spurge

A fairly large biennial spurge with opposite leaves and of southern European origin. It has been grown widely in gardens and it has become naturalised in many parts of Europe and elsewhere. The large three-sided fruits resemble capers, hence its common name. It is regarded as an archaeophyte in the British Flora but most modern records are probably from garden escapes or perhaps as introductions from bird seed. It is usually found in ruderal habitats, old gardens, landfill sites, roadsides and disturbed areas near gardens. It has a largely southern distribution in Britain, but it is almost always lowland and not widespread in Wales. There are scattered records in West Glamorgan, mostly from coastal areas near habitation.

Archaeophyte