Dog's Mercury - Mercurialis perennis

Low to short rhizomatous hairy plant. Leaves lanceolate stalked, crowded towards the stem tops. Flowers greenish 4 to 5 mm, the female solitary or 2 to 3 together, the male in long tassel-like spikes.

Shaded habitats, woods, hedge bottoms.

February to April

Perennial

Common throughout much of Britain, but rare in northern Scotland and in Ireland.

Quite common in Leicestershire and Rutland. In the 1979 Flora survey of Leicestershire it was found in 259 of the 617 tetrads.