Black bryony (Tamus communis)
At a glance
- Lifecycle
- Perennial (hardy)
- Exposure
- Full sun
- Frost limit
- −28.9 °C
Cultivation
Requires a moist well-drained fertile soil. A climbing plant, the weak stems support themselves by twining around other plants and are capable of growing quite high up into shrubs and trees. Dioecious. Male and female plants must be grown if seed is required.
Propagation
Seed - sow in a cold frame in early spring or as soon as the seed is ripe in the autumn. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots once they are large enough to handle, and plant out in the summer or in late spring of the following year.
Edible uses
Young shoots - cooked. See notes at top of the page regarding possible toxicity.
Medicinal uses
The root is antiecchymotic, diuretic, emetic, haemolytic and rubefacient.
Habitat
Hedgerows, scrub, woodland edges and copses, avoiding acid soils.
Native range
Europe, south and east from Britain and Belgium to N. Africa, Hungary, E. Mediterranean, W. Asia.