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Apocynum venetum - L.

Author	L.	Botanical references	50, 200
Family	Apocynaceae	Genus	Apocynum
Synonyms	Trachomitum venetum - (L.)Woodson.
Known Hazards	All parts of the plant are poisonous[1, 62].
Range	S. Europe. N. Africa - Syria.
Habitat	Swamps, wet places and maritime sands[1, 50].
Edibility Rating	0 (1-5)	Medicinal Rating	2 (1-5)

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 0.3m by 1m.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats

Cultivated Beds;

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal Uses

Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.

Cardiotonic; Diuretic; Hypotensive.

The leaves or the whole herb is cardiotonic, diuretic and hypotensive[176, 218]. It is used in the treatment of hypertensive headache, dizziness, insomnia, irritability, oliguria and nephritic oedema[176]. It increases the renal blood flow and can be used for renal and cardiac oedema and ascites of liver cirrhosis[176].

Other Uses

Fibre.

The bark yields a fibre that is used for making twine, bags, linen etc[46, 61]. It can be harvested after the leaves fall in autumn but is probably at its best as the seed pods are forming[169].

Cultivation details

Succeeds in sun or shade in most well-drained but moisture-retentive soils[1, 200]. Plants can be invasive[200]. The flowers are attractive to bees.

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in late summer and overwintered outdoors. The seed requires a period of cold stratification if it is to germinate well[238]. Prick out the seedlings when large enough to handle and grow them on in a cold frame for their first winter, planting out in late spring of the following year[K]. Division in spring just before active growth begins[200]. Plants can also be divided in the autumn[238].

Links

This plant is also mentioned in the following PFAF articles: Fiber Plants.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[50] ? Flora Europaea Cambridge University Press 1964
An immense work in 6 volumes (including the index). The standard reference flora for europe, it is very terse though and with very little extra information. Not for the casual reader.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[62] Elias. T. and Dykeman. P. A Field Guide to N. American Edible Wild Plants. Van Nostrand Reinhold 1982 ISBN 0442222009
Very readable.

[169] Buchanan. R. A Weavers Garden. 0
Covers all aspects of growing your own clothes, from fibre plants to dyes.

[176] Yeung. Him-Che. Handbook of Chinese Herbs and Formulas. Institute of Chinese Medicine, Los Angeles 1985
An excellent Chinese herbal giving information on over 500 species. Rather technical and probably best suited to the more accomplished user of herbs.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[218] Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985 ISBN 0-917256-20-4
Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.

[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.

Readers Comments

Plants for a Future does not verify the accuracy of reader comments, use at your own risk. In particular Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. You should always consult a professional before using plants medicinally.

Fiber Plants

Yashpal Joshi Thu Jun 14 2007

Dear Sir, i wwould like to know about the various processing machines of sisal from decortication to yarn making

Fiber Plants

Md. Aminul Islam (Razib) Wed Sep 17 2008

I am a MS student of BAngladesh Agri. University. I am interested to extract fibre from some possible plant. Initially I've started by Sisal,Ladies Finger,Pineapple leaf etc. But in Ur site details information about this plant is absence.

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