APOCYNACEAE DOGBANE FAMILY 
INDIAN HEMP. RHEUMATISM ROOT 
A pocynum cannabinum L. 
The Indian Hemp is common in fields and thickets from 
Alabama to Kansas and north into Canada. It is quite similar to 
the Spreading Dogbane, page 240, but its flowers are much 
smaller and greenish 
white, and it grows 
from a deep-branch- 
ing, vertical root, 
whereas the Spreading 
Dogbane has a hori- 
zontal underground 
stem. The root is 
used to some extent 
in medicine and con- 
sequently accounts 
for the name Rheu- 
matism Root. 
The plant as a 
whole varies greatly 
under different en- 
vironmental condi- 
tions. The stem is 
usually 1-4 feet high 
and extensively 
branched, but when 
growing on exposed 
gravelly beaches is often dwarfed and wide spreading. The stems 
contain very tough fibers comparable to those of Hemp and are 
said to have been used by Indians for making twine, fish nets, 
baskets and other articles. The leaves are usually pale green and 
either entirely smooth or with short whitish hairs beneath. 
They may be sessile, especially on lateral branches, or they may 
have short petioles. 
The flowers are produced from June to August. The 5 calyx 
segments are about as long as the tube of the greenish white 
corolla. The 5 corolla lobes are not turned back as are those of 
the Spreading Dogbane, but are nearly erect. Stamens, pistil, 
fruits and seeds are, however, similar. 
241 
