Apocynum cannabinum
| Apocynum cannabinum | |
| Light: |    |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 4 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 2' |
| Width: | 3' |
| Blooms: | Mid Summer-Late Summer |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Apocynum cannabinum (common name: indian hemp)
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[1]. 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[2]. Plants can also be divided in the autumn[1].
Cultivation: Succeeds in sun or shade in most well-drained moist soils[3][1].
Plants can be invasive[2].
The young shoots of this plant are extremely attractive to slugs[K].
Range: North-eastern N. America.
Habitat: Gravelly or sandy soil, mainly near streams[4]. A common weed of cultivated land[5], usually found in shady or moist places[6].
Edibility: Seed - raw or cooked[7]. It can be ground into a powder and used as a meal[6].
A latex obtained from the plant is used as a chewing gum[8][6][9]. After the latex has been squeezed from the plant it s allowed to stand overnight to harden into a white gum[7]. The latex was sometimes mixed with clean clay[7].
Medicinal: Indian hemp is an unpleasantly bitter stimulant irritant herb that acts on the heart, respiratory and urinary systems, and also on the uterus[1]. It was much employed by various native North American Indian tribes who used it to treat a wide variety of complaints including rheumatism, coughs, pox, whooping cough, asthma, internal parasites, diarrhoea and also to increase milk flow in lactating mothers[7]. The plant is still used in modern herbalism, but it should be used with great caution, and only under the supervision of a qualified practitioner if taken internally[[4][10][1]. See the notes above on toxicity[4][10].
The root is cardiotonic, diaphoretic, diuretic, emetic and expectorant[4][11][8][6][1]. It is harvested in the autumn and dried for later use[1]. The fresh root is the most active part medicinally. It has been used in the treatment of syphilis and as a tonic[12]. A weak tea made from the dried root has been used for cardiac diseases[12][10].
A tea made from the root has been used as a vermifuge[13].
The milky sap is a folk remedy for venereal warts[10].
Usage: A very good quality fibre obtained from the bark is used for making clothes, twine, bags, linen, paper etc[14][11][8][15][6][16][17][7]. It is about 12 - 18mm long[17]. Very strong[18], it is used as a flax substitute[19], it does not shrink and it retains its strength in water[18]. The fibre is produced late in the season[20], it can be harvested after the leaves fall in autumn but is probably at its best as the seed pods are forming[3]. When making paper, the stems can be retted by leaving them in the ground until they are dry in the winter or they can be harvested in late summer, the leaves removed and the stems steamed to remove the fibre[17]. The stems are then cooked for two hours with lye and pounded with mallets[17].
The plant yields a latex which is a possible source of rubber[11][8][9]. The latex is also used as a chewing gum.
Pollinators: Lepidoptera
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Known Hazards: All parts of the plant are poisonous[14][4][21][22]. It contains toxic cardioactive glycosides[10].
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Bown, Deni. Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopaedia of Herbs and Their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, 1995.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Buchanan, Rita. A Weavers Garden.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
- ↑ Hitchcock, Leo. Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest. University of Washington Press, 1955.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Sweet, Muriel. Common Edible and Useful Plants of the West. Naturegraph Co, 1962.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 Foster, Steven and Billy Tatum. Medicinal Plants of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin, 1990.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Coffey, Timothy. The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. Facts on File, 1993.
- ↑ Weiner, Michael. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books, 1980.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ Balls, Edward. Early Uses of Californian Plants. University of California Press, 1975.
- ↑ Saunders, Charles. Edible and Useful Wild Plants of the United States and Canada. Dover Publications, 1976.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 Bell, Lilian. Plant Fibres for Papermaking. Liliaceae Press, 1988.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 Turner, Nancy. Plants in British Columbian Indian Technology. British Columbia Provincial Museum, 1979.
- ↑ Schery. Robert. Plants for Man. Prentice Hall, 1972.
- ↑ Harrington, Harold. Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains. University of New Mexico Press, 1967.
- ↑ Stary, Frantisek. Poisonous Plants. Hamlyn, 1983.
- ↑ Elias, Thomas. A Field Guide to North American Edible Wild Plants. Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1982.