in botany, a genus of the dodecandra trigynia clas. The corolla consists of four or five petals; and the calyx has but one leaf. There are sixty-two species, twelve of which are natives of Britain, viz. the pelus, or small purple sea-spurge; the pelus, or petty spurge; the exigua, or dwarf-spurge; the segetalis, or corn-spurge; the helioscopia, sun-spurge, or wart-wort; the portlandica, or Portland spurge; the paralias, or sea-spurge; the verrucosa, or rough-fruited spurge; the platyphyllus, or broad-leaved spurge; the amygdaloides, or wood-spurge; the characias, or red spurge; and the hyberna, or knotty-rooted spurge. The spurges are exceedingly acrid, and are now rejected both by the Edinburgh and London dispensaries.