BRYONY 



181 



out the H umber and Tyne provinces, in Cumberland, and Ayr in 

 Scotland. It is thus rare in the north, and absent from Ireland. 



The common Bryony is a typical hedgerow species climbing over 

 Hawthorn and other plants. It is associated with Brambles of different 

 kinds, Greater Stitchwort, Violet Tufted Vetch, Sloe, Dog Rose, Cow 

 Parsnip, Elder, Teasel, Great Hedge Bindweed, and other plants. 

 A climbing plant, Bryony is remarkable for its long, coiled tendrils 

 and its large mandrake-like roots. The English and Greek names 



BRYONY (Bryonia dioica, Jacq.) 



refer to its quick growth, a feature that one may readily observe for 

 oneself in spring, although it should not be restricted to this plant. 



The stems are long, furrowed, dividing into one or more branches, 

 long lobes divided to the base, heart-shaped, with 5-lobed leaves, with 

 the teeth bordered with dots, rough, and pale-green. 



The plants are dioecious (with flowers on different plants), the 

 male ones in corymbose cymes, the female, which have an ovary 

 below, being in umbels, and the calyx is only half as long as the 

 corolla. The flowers are large with green veins. When ripe the fruit 

 is rounded and red. The Bryony is found 8-10 ft. long. It flowers 

 in May up to September. It is perennial, reproduced by division. 



In this flower the male flowers are a palish-yellow, and half an 



