Scientific name: Mercurialis perennis L.
Common name: Dog's Mercury
Description
Habit: A hairy perennial, to 45 cm high.
Stems: Erect, hairy, with creeping underground rhizomes; flowering stems unbranched.
Leaves: Opposite, stalked, with small stipules, dark green, oval to oval-lanceolate, bluntly toothed, pointed tip.
Flowers: Green, small unisexual; sepals 3, united at the base; male flowers in clusters in long, lax, axillary spikes; stamens 9-12; female flowers solitary or in groups of 2-3 with a 2-celled ovary and forked stigma.
Fruits: A capsule.
Habitat: Scrub, roadsides and rocky ground.
Distribution: Occasional in two limited areas in the Burren, not recorded elsewhere.
Native status: Native
Of conservation interest: Yes