Annual mercury
Mercurialis annua is an annual plant that is deciduous in summer and, in mild regions, also wintergreen. When in bloom, it reaches a height of between 10 and 40 centimeters.
The shiny leaves are ovate to ovate-lanceolate or narrow. With serrated to toothed edges.
The clear sap is poisonous, as are the rest of the plant parts.
Its original range includes most European countries, North Africa, and Western Asia. As a neophyte, Mercurialis annua also occurs in other regions (source).
It colonizes sunny to semi-shaded locations such as shrubbery edges, embankments, roadsides, ditches, meadows, fields, or weed patches. Annual mercury grows best in nutrient-rich and evenly moist soil.
