Bryony

For the Royal Navy ships, see HMS Bryony.

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Red Bryony (B. dioica)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Cucurbitales
Family:	Cucurbitaceae
Subfamily:	Cucurbitoideae
Tribe:	Benincaseae
Subtribe:	Benincasinae
Genus:	Bryonia L.
Diversity
12 species

Bryony (pronounced /ˈbraɪ.əni/ or /ˈbriːəni/) is the common name for flowering plants in the genus Bryonia. They are native to western Eurasia and adjacent regions, such as North Africa, the Canary Islands and South Asia.

File:White bryony male close 800.jpg

Male flower of White Bryony (B. alba)

Description and ecology

Bryonies are perennial, tendril-climbing, diclinous or dioecious herbs with palmately lobed leaves and flowers in axillary clusters. The fruit is a smooth, globular berry.

The only English species, B. alba (White Bryony), grows in hedgerows as far north as Yorkshire. There are eight varieties established in Europe.

Bryonia is used as a food plant by the larvae of some Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths), including the tortrix moth Phtheochroa rugosana (recorded on Red Bryony, B. dioica) and the Cabbage Moth (Mamestra brassicae).

Use by humans

Bryonies are occasionally grown in gardens, sometimes accidentially, sometimes deliberately so. Some species find use in herbal medicine. Generally however, these plants are poisonous, some highly so, and may be fatal if ingested.

Variants of the plants' name, such as Briony, Bryonie and Bryony, are used in some cultures as female given names. They were quite popular in the 18th century. The name is most popular in and around Scottish regions where the plant is mainly seen and grown. This results in many Scottish versions of the name.

The Royal Navy named two ships HMS Bryony after the plant.

Species

File:Bryonia dioica 004.JPG

The toxic berries of Red Bryony (B. dioica)

12 species are presently considered valid:

• Bryonia acuta Desf. (formerly sometimes included in B. cretica)
• Bryonia alba L. – White Bryony
• Bryonia aspera Steven ex Ledeb.
• Bryonia cretica L. – Cretan Bryony
• Bryonia dioica Jacq. – Red Bryony (formerly sometimes included in B. cretica)
• Bryonia lappifolia Vassilcz.
• Bryonia marmorata E.M.A.Petit
• Bryonia melanocarpa Nabiev
• Bryonia monoica Aitch. & Hemsl.
• Bryonia multiflora Boiss. & Heldr.
• Bryonia syriaca Boiss.
• Bryonia verrucosa Aiton

Formerly placed here

• Many species of Cayaponia ("American bryonies")
• Several species of Cucumis, Solena and Zehneria
• Coccinia abyssinica
• Corallocarpus epigaeus
• Diplocyclos palmatus
• Kedrostis africana
• Melothria pendula (as B. guadalupensis)
• Trichosanthes ovigera (as B. cucumeroides)

See also

• Black Bryony (Dioscorea communis), an unrelated but similar-looking plant of the Dioscoreaceae
• Bryonopsis (meaning "looks like bryony"), a now-invalid genus currently assigned to close (Diplocyclos) and somewhat more distant (Kedrostis) relatives of Bryonia

References

• United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) (2009): Germplasm Resources Information Network – Bryonia. Version of 2009-MAY-15. Retrieved 2010-APR-15.

External links

• Medicinal uses of Bryonia alba - Note: This is a historical document from the 1930s and may not be medically accurate today.bg:Дива тиква

sv:Hundrovesläktet