Not all plants were welcome in Athens. Standing waters across the city were a source of malaria. Local residents attributed the disease to the presence of Euphorbia characias, a flowering plant popularly known as Mediterranean spurge. It grew abundantly on the slopes of Mount Hymettus and in the suburbs of Athens. Since the Ottoman period, the local authorities arranged to have the plant removed before it flowered, in a vain attempt to control the spread of the fevers caused by malaria. During the early regency period public health programs were almost non-existent while even the removal of the plant was intermittent.