About Euphorbia hirta L.
Euphorbia hirta L. is an annual herb that can grow either erect or prostrate, reaching up to 60 cm (24 in) in length. Its solid stem is covered in many coarse yellow to reddish hairs, and the plant produces an abundant amount of white latex. Stipules are present on this species. Leaves are arranged in opposite pairs along the stem; they are simple, elliptical to slightly rhombic, with an oblique base. Both the upper and lower leaf surfaces are hairy, with particularly dense hair growth on the veins of the lower leaf surface. Leaf margins are finely dentate. Veins are deep-set on the upper leaf surface and conspicuous on the underside, and the leaf surface is somewhat leathery. Flowers are unisexual, borne in axillary cymes at each leaf node. These cymes form dense balls of flowers and fruit capsules that typically sit close to the stem, and the flower glands bear tiny white or pinkish petal-like appendages. The fruit is a three-valved three-sided capsule covered uniformly in appressed hairs. It contains tiny oblong, four-sided seeds measuring 0.7–0.9 mm, which range in color from orange to pink or red. This species has a white or brown taproot.
