Origins: Thickets, meadows, fields, orchards, and along roadsides.

Uses: Reputedly this plant is valuable as an expectorant, antirheumatic, diaphoretic, and diuretic. It is also a source of glucoside and alkaloid. In Appalachia it is used to treat warts and moles. The white juice of this plant is extremely irritating to the eyes.

Toxicity: The white juice of this plant is extremely irritating to the eyes.

A guide to medicinal plants of Appalachia/ Krochmal, Arnold; Walter, Russel S.; Doughty, Richard M.: USA: U.S.D.A Forest Service:,1959