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Toxic☠️ To avoid

⚠️ Sea Spurge

Euphorbia paralias · Euphorbiaceae

🐚 Coastline🫒 Mediterranean
🧠 To remember it“On the sand, if it bleeds white, leave it be” — any dune plant exuding a milky latex when broken must be discarded, regardless of how much it looks like neighboring sea sandwort or glasswort.
Sea Spurge — Euphorbia paralias

🔍 Identify it without mistakes

Perennial dune plant growing 30 to 60 cm tall, with upright, unbranched stems that are reddish at the base and turn yellow-green toward the top, densely covered with small, fleshy, blue-green overlapping leaves. Like all spurges, it instantly exudes a caustic, milky white latex when broken — the signature sign of the entire genus, particularly treacherous here because the plant grows in the same sands as several edible species.

  1. milky white latex flowing immediately when a stem or leaf is broken — signature of the whole Euphorbia genus
  2. fleshy, sessile, blue-green leaves, densely overlapping along erect, unbranched stems that are reddish at the base
  3. yellow-green cyathia inflorescence characteristic of the genus, arranged in terminal umbels
  4. grows in erect tufts in coastal dune sand, never forming a creeping carpet
Size30-60 cm
FloweringMay-September
Habitatcoastal dunes and sandy upper beaches of the Atlantic and Mediterranean, among pioneer plants of embryonic and fixed dunes, often in direct contact with edible plants of the same environment (sea sandwort, samphire)

⚠️ Not to be confused with

Sea Sandwort (edible) (Honckenya peploides)sea spurge is highly toxic, sea sandwort is edible; young shoots can look similar at first glance in the same sand

To tell them apart: the decisive test is the latex: break a leaf or stem — sea spurge instantly releases a sticky white latex, sea sandwort never does; sea sandwort leaves are also arranged in 4 very regular overlapping rows, absent in sea spurge

Glasswort / Samphire (edible) (Salicornia europaea)sea spurge is highly toxic (caustic latex), glasswort is safely edible

To tell them apart: glasswort has no visible leaves at all (fleshy jointed stems without leaves) and releases only a clear, salty sap when broken; sea spurge bears small, clearly visible blue-green leaves and releases a milky white latex as soon as you break it — this latex is the decisive test

☠️ What kills

nomPhorbol esters and other caustic diterpenes present in the latex of the entire plant, common to the Euphorbia genus
dose letale estimeerarely fatal from accidental ingestion in adults due to the very unpleasant taste and immediate emetic effect limiting the absorbed dose; main danger is ocular and dermal (approx, no standardized human dose)
delaia few minutes for skin or eye irritation, 30 min to 2 h for digestive disorders
symptomesskin burning and blistering upon contact with latex, intense eye pain with risk of keratitis if splashed in the eye, violent vomiting and diarrhea if ingested
antidoteno antidote; prolonged eye flushing imperative in case of splashes, symptomatic treatment for ingestion
morts documenteesexceptional in humans; the most serious documented risk is severe skin and eye irritation

First steps : If splashed in the eye: flush thoroughly with clean water for at least 15 minutes and seek emergency ophthalmic care. If ingested: call poison control immediately, do not induce vomiting. Wash your hands after any contact with the latex.

Sources (3)

No entry replaces a certain identification in the field, or medical advice. When in doubt: don't eat it. If ingestion is suspected: poison control or 112/911.