View source for Bryony

:''For the Royal Navy ships, see [[HMS Bryony|HMS ''Bryony'']].''
__NOTOC__{{Taxobox
| image = P1000627 Bryonia dioica (Cucurbitaceae) Plant.JPG
| image_width = 215px
| image_caption = [[Red Bryony]] (''[[Bryonia dioica|B. dioica]]'')
| regnum = [[Plantae]]
| divisio = [[Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Cucurbitales]]
| familia = [[Cucurbitaceae]]
| subfamilia = [[Cucurbitoideae]]
| tribus = [[Benincaseae]]
| subtribus = [[Benincasinae]]
| genus = '''''Bryonia'''''
| genus_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]
| diversity_link = #Species
| diversity = 12 [[species]]
}}

'''Bryony''' ({{pron-en|ˈbraɪ.əni}} or {{IPA-en|ˈbriːəni|}}) is the common name for [[flowering plant]]s in the [[genus]] '''''Bryonia'''''. They are native to western [[Eurasia]] and adjacent regions, such as [[North Africa]], the [[Canary Islands]] and [[South Asia]].
[[Image:White bryony male close 800.jpg|thumb|left|Male flower of [[White Bryony]] (''B. alba'')]]

==Description and ecology==
Bryonies are [[perennial plant|perennial]], tendril-[[vine|climbing]], [[diclinous]] or [[dioecious]] [[herb]]s with palmately lobed leaves and [[flower]]s in axillary clusters. The [[fruit]] is a smooth, globular [[berry]]. 

The only [[England|English]] species, ''[[Bryonia alba|B. alba]]'' (White Bryony), grows in [[hedgerow]]s as far north as [[Yorkshire]]{{Verify source|date=April 2010}}<!-- contradicts the "Scotland" part below -->. There are eight varieties established in [[Europe]].{{Verify source|date=April 2010}}<!-- does this refer to true varieties of B. alba, or is it an erroneous way of saying that 8 species are found in Europe? -->

''Bryonia'' is used as a food plant by the [[larva]]e of some [[Lepidoptera]] ([[butterflies]] and [[moth]]s), including the [[tortrix moth]] ''[[Phtheochroa rugosana]]'' (recorded on [[Red Bryony]], ''[[Bryonia dioica|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 [[poison]]ous, 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 name]]s.  They were quite popular in the 18th century. The name is most popular in and around [[Scotland|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|HMS ''Bryony'']] after the plant.

==Species==
[[File:Bryonia dioica 004.JPG|thumb|right|The [[toxic]] berries of [[Red Bryony]] (''[[Bryonia dioica|B. dioica]]'')]]
12 [[species]] are presently considered valid:<ref>USDA (2009)</ref>
<!-- what is "Bryonia acerifolia", "Bryonia acutangula", "Bryonia afghanica", "Bryonia affinis", "Bryonia grandis"   -->
* ''[[Bryonia acuta]]'' <small>Desf.</small> (formerly sometimes included in ''B. cretica'')
* ''[[Bryonia alba]]'' <small>L.</small> &ndash; [[White Bryony]]
* ''[[Bryonia aspera]]'' <small>Steven ex Ledeb.</small>
* ''[[Bryonia cretica]]'' <small>L.</small> &ndash; [[Cretan Bryony]]
* ''[[Bryonia dioica]]'' <small>Jacq.</small> &ndash; [[Red Bryony]] (formerly sometimes included in ''B. cretica'')
* ''[[Bryonia lappifolia]]'' <small>Vassilcz.</small>
* ''[[Bryonia marmorata]]'' <small>E.M.A.Petit</small>
* ''[[Bryonia melanocarpa]]'' <small>Nabiev</small>
* ''[[Bryonia monoica]]'' <small>Aitch. & Hemsl.</small>
* ''[[Bryonia multiflora]]'' <small>Boiss. & Heldr.</small>
* ''[[Bryonia syriaca]]'' <small>Boiss.</small>
* ''[[Bryonia verrucosa]]'' <small>Aiton</small>

===Formerly placed here===<!-- list the names used when in Bryonia only if not the basionym -->
* Many species of ''[[Cayaponia]]'' ("American bryonies")
* Several species of ''[[Cucumis]]'', ''[[Solena]]'' and ''[[Zehneria]]''
* ''[[Coccinia abyssinica]]''<!-- (Lam.) Cogn. = "B. abyssinica Lam." -->
* ''[[Corallocarpus epigaeus]]''<!-- (Rottler) C.B.Clarke = "B. epigaea Rottler" -->
* ''[[Diplocyclos palmatus]]''<!-- (L.) C.Jeffrey = "B. laciniosa auct.", "B. palmata L." -->
* ''[[Kedrostis africana]]''<!-- (L.) Cogn. = "B. africana L." -->
* ''[[Melothria pendula]]''<!-- L. --> (as ''B. guadalupensis''<!-- Spreng. -->)
* ''[[Trichosanthes ovigera]]''<!-- Blume --> (as ''B. cucumeroides''<!-- Ser. -->)

==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''

==Footnotes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
* {{aut|[[United States Department of Agriculture]] (USDA)}} (2009): [[Germplasm Resources Information Network]] &ndash; [http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/genus.pl?1761 ''Bryonia'']. Version of 2009-MAY-15. Retrieved 2010-APR-15.

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Bryonia}}
* [http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/b/brywhi77.html Medicinal uses of ''Bryonia alba''] - '''Note''': This is a historical document from the 1930s and may not be medically accurate today.

[[Category:Cucurbitaceae]]
[[Category:Medicinal plants]]
[[Category:Poisonous plants]]

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