Cucurbitaceae FAMILY

Bryonia alba

Edibility

1/5

Medicinal

3/5

Safety & Hazards

All parts of the plant, and especially the root, are poisonous[ 232 Title The Complete Homeopathy Handbook. Publication Author Castro. M. Publisher Macmillan. London. Year 1990 ISBN 0-333-55581-3 Description A concise beginner's guide to the subject. Very readable. ]. Taken orally, the root can cause dizziness, vomiting, convulsions, colic, bloody diarrhoea, abortion, nervous excitement, and kidney damage. Large doses can cause anuria, collapse, spasms, paralysis, and death. Applied topically, skin contact with fresh root may cause irritation. Ingestion of 15 berries is likely to be fatal to a child., whilst ingestion of 40 berries is likely to be fatal for adults

Botanical Description

Bryonia alba is a herbaceous, perennial, climbing plant producing branching stems up to 4 metres long from a tuberous rootstock.The stems scramble over the ground, climbing into the surrounding vegetation where they attach themselves by means of tendrils[ 200 Title The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. Publication Author Huxley. A. Publisher MacMillan Press Year 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5 Description Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed. ]. The plant has been used in the past as a medicine, and possibly also as a food, though both these uses should be viewed with some caution. The plant is also sometimes encouraged as an ornamental in hedgerows.

Habitat & Origin

Origintemperate

Native RangeCentral Europe - Poland and Germany east to Ukraine and Greece; E. Asia - Caucasus and Turkey to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan

HabitatVineyards and woods[ 232 Title The Complete Homeopathy Handbook. Publication Author Castro. M. Publisher Macmillan. London. Year 1990 ISBN 0-333-55581-3 Description A concise beginner's guide to the subject. Very readable. ]. Shrubby formations, forest edges, ravines, as a weed in orchards[ 74 Title Flora of the USSR. Publication Author Komarov. V. L. Website http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org Publisher Israel Program for Scientific Translation Year 1968 ISBN - Description An immense (25 or more large volumes) and not yet completed translation of the Russian flora. Full of information on plant uses and habitats but heavy going for casual readers. It can be downloaded from the Internet. ]. Found especially in dry soils, preferring rocky slopes in the mountainous areas, dry riverbeds or even sand dunes[ 1201 Title Bryonia alba L. and Ecballium elaterium (L.) A. Rich. - Two related species of the Cucurbitaceae family with importa Publication Farmacia, 2016 , Vol 64, 3 pp 323-332 Author Irina Ielciu; Michel Feédérich; Monique Tits; Luc Angenot; R Publisher Year 2016 ISBN Description ].