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Dog's Mercury

Dog's Mercury

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Dog's Mercury

Mercurialis perennis, or Dog's Mercury, is a spring flower found across Europe

Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
, but almost absent from Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is the List of islands by area in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islet....
, Orkney and Shetland. It is a hairy dioecious

Dioecious

Dioecious - from Greek language for "two households" - refers to species of seed-bearing plants having separate male and female plants. That is, no individual plant of the species produces both microspores and megaspores; individual plants are either male or female ....
perennial with erect stems bearing simple, serrate leaves. The inflorescence

Inflorescence

An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a Plant stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches....
is green bearing inconspicuous flowers in March and April. It is frequently found covering large areas in dense stands as an understorey

Understory

Understory is the term for the area of a forest which grows in the shade of the emergent or Canopy . Plants in the understory consist of a mixture of seedlings and saplings of canopy trees together with understory shrubs and herbs....
plant in woodlands, especially, but not exclusively, on calcareous soils.

Dog's Mercury is a poisonous plant; however, boiling or drying can destroy the toxins.

This plant favours alkaline (basic) soils and can be found in abundance in limestone regions particularly in Yorkshire.

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Encyclopedia

Mercurialis perennis, or Dog's Mercury, is a spring flower found across Europe

Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
, but almost absent from Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is the List of islands by area in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islet....
, Orkney and Shetland. It is a hairy dioecious

Dioecious

Dioecious - from Greek language for "two households" - refers to species of seed-bearing plants having separate male and female plants. That is, no individual plant of the species produces both microspores and megaspores; individual plants are either male or female ....
perennial with erect stems bearing simple, serrate leaves. The inflorescence

Inflorescence

An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a Plant stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches....
is green bearing inconspicuous flowers in March and April. It is frequently found covering large areas in dense stands as an understorey

Understory

Understory is the term for the area of a forest which grows in the shade of the emergent or Canopy . Plants in the understory consist of a mixture of seedlings and saplings of canopy trees together with understory shrubs and herbs....
plant in woodlands, especially, but not exclusively, on calcareous soils.

Dog's Mercury is a poisonous plant; however, boiling or drying can destroy the toxins.

This plant favours alkaline (basic) soils and can be found in abundance in limestone regions particularly in Yorkshire. It also favours deep shade and can survive in semi-shade, however in areas of high light intensity Dog's Mercury will give way to different plants.

See also

List of early spring flowers
List of early spring flowers

These flowers come into bloom in early Spring :* Anemone ranunculoides* Bloodroot* Crocus* Dewberry* Dog's Mercury* Early Star-of-Bethlehem* Eastern Redbud...