INDIAN HEMP 



Apocynum cannabinum L. 



Summer Tlie Indian honip. together w itli the smaller plant, 



Bottomlands, sands spreading dogbane, is one of the slightly poisoiu)ns 



plants of Ameriea. It eseaju's being a menaee to 

 human life simply because there is little about the Indian hemp to invite 

 a human being to eat it. But cattle, horses, and sheep oei-asionally eat 

 either the dried or flic green leaves and sii(r(>r ill elTeets from a toxic 

 ingredient called ( ymarin. 



Indian heni|i. however, >eenis to eause little alarm among stock 

 raisers. The plant seldom gro\v> in pasture- or other land where livestock 

 arc allowed to graze. In sandv country, bottondand lields and on beaches, 

 the deep tap roots of Indian hemp lirmly fix themselves. The ]unki.*h 

 st<^m braiu'hes. beai's blue-gi'eeii. oval, tapering leaves with a whitish or 

 ])inkish midrib, and the llowers at the tops of the stems are ])roduced in 

 clusters. The llowers are small. bell-sha])(>d, with five spreading \)oti\\ 

 divisions, and are somewhat fragrant. In the lat<' sunuuer, autumn, and 

 all through the winter, as long as the dead stalks staiul. the long, bean- 

 like ])(k1s of winged seeds renuiin. In the nuiuner of milkweeds, the pods 

 split and the .seeds Huff out and lly away. The Indian hemp, in fact, is 

 closely related to the milkweeds and has not only silky .seeds but an 

 acrid milky juii-e. Yellow wail)lers and goldfinches are among the birds 

 which make use of the Indian hemp llult in their nests. 



The silky ravels of libers which split away from the st^ilks aLso 

 arc used by birds for their nests. In the ])ast. the.se .strong fibers were 

 used for cordage by liulians of the region. 



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