Usually available: March to December

Life cycle: Annual
Height: 20cm
Position: Sun / part shade
Soil preference: Well drained

This is how we pack and send your Herb Plants to all states except TAS & WA

You will receive
- 1 Radium Weed Herb Plant in a 50 X 75mm tube - General growing instructions

All of our Herb Plants are grown organically with certified organic potting mixes and fertilizers

Botanical Name: Euphorbia peplus

Radium weed is also known as petty spurge, milkweed, and cancer weed. It is a small annual garden weed common throughout Australia. It has branched stems with alternate oval leaves, the yellow flowers are inconspicuous, and the stem when broken oozes a milky corrosive sap. The sap is the useful part of this plant, being used to burn off sun spots.

Historically, it has been used for treatment of warts, corns and skin cancers and indeed, there is an ingredient in the sap that does cause regression of such skin lesions.

An Australian company called Peplin Biotech is conducting research and developing a gel from the sap of Euphorbia peplus as a simple topical treatment for certain skin cancers, such as basal cell carcinomas and squamous cell carcinomas.

The milky sap can be applied to sunspots for 2-4 days. You do not need a lot of the sap just a drop on the area to be treated. The site will fester and be quite unsightly, followed by a scab, then fresh pink skin. Fresh aloe gel can be applied to aid healing.

Avoid contact with the eyes and internal membranes. The sap is corrosive and will burn sensitive soft tissues.

Growing Conditions:

Self seeds readily throughout the garden, will grow in poor soils and difficult positions, but grows better in a well watered position in sun to semi sun. It is crucial to grow it in a spot where it has a chance to self seed, such as a large pot or a good spot in the ground with good soil. This ensures the plant can propagate itself and maintain a consistent presence in your garden.

In South East Queensland it grows better through the cooler months, in cooler southern states it will grow through summer.

All information provided on this website is for informational purposes only. Please seek professional advice before commencing any treatment.