Cynachum

Location & distribution maps

Plant description

Common name:         ...

• The common name for several species is dog-strangling vine, based on the meaning of the scientific name

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Conservation status: ...

Etymology:   

• From Greek kynos (meaning "dog") and anchein ("to choke"), hence the common name for several species is dog-strangling vine

Flowers

• The inflorescences and flowers come in a variety of shapes

Fruit:                            

• Like other species of the milkweed family, these plants bear follicles, which are podlike dry fruits

Leaves:         

• The leaves are usually oppositely arranged and sometimes are borne on petioles

Stem & branches: 

Roots:         

Habit:        

• These plants are perennial herbs or subshrubs, often growing from rhizomes

• Most species are non-succulent climbers or twiners

• There is some evidence of toxicity

Habitat:   

Distribution:                  

• Throughout the tropics and subtropics

• Several species also grow in temperate regions

Species:                     

• World:           

• Australia:     ~ 300

Additional notes:     

• A genus of about 300 species including some swallowworts, belonging to the family Apocynaceae

• Importance

  • The root of Cynanchum atratum is used in Chinese traditional medicine and called Bai wei

  • Several other species had traditional Chinese medicinal uses

• Classification

  • Cynanchum as defined in the late 20th century (to include about 400 species) is polyphyletic and is being broken up

  • Species are being moved to genera including Orthosia, Pentarrhinum, and Vincetoxicum, with a group of mostly Old World species staying in Cynanchum

  • Old genera such as Raphistemma brought to synonymy

  • Revision of the genus taxonomy in 2023 identified two new synonyms: Vincetoxicum sibiricum f. linearifolium, described from Shandong, China in 1877, but long neglected and Cynanchum gobicum, previously believed to be endemic to Mongolia

Sources of information:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynanchum (2023)