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Cephalanthus occidentalis

Common name:	Button Bush	Family:	Rubiaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	11, 43, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	The leaves contain glucosides and can be toxic in large doses. Symptoms include vomiting, convulsions, chronic spasms and muscular paralysis[274].
Range:	Eastern N. America - Nova Scotia to Florida, west to Minnesota and California
Habitat:	A lowland species, growing along the edges of streams, rivers, lakes, swamps and wet floodplains[229].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	0	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	C. occidentalis var. californicus[B,P] C. occidentalis var. pubescens[B,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Button Bush [S], Buttonbush [FEIS,DEN1], Common Buttonbush [P,B],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	cephalanthus = flowering head; occidentalis = of the west;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Rubiales. Madder family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Mexico; Us; Us(Indian); Us(Ks); Us(Meskwaski)

Physical Characteristics

A decidious shrub growing to 7m. It is hardy to zone 6. It is in flower in August, and the seeds ripen in October. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs). We rate it 0/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid and neutral soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist or wet soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Bog Garden, Woodland, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge.

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Astringent; Diaphoretic; Diuretic; Emetic; Febrifuge; Laxative; Odontalgic; Ophthalmic; Tonic.

Button bush was often employed medicinally by native North American Indian tribes who used it to treat a range of ailments[257]. It is little used in modern herbalism.
A tea made from the bark is astringent, emetic, febrifuge and tonic[61, 222]. A strong decoction has been used to treat diarrhoea and dysentery, stomach complaints, haemorrhages etc[257]. It has been used as a wash for eye inflammations[222].
A decoction of either the roots or the fruits have been used as a laxative to treat constipation[257]
The leaves are astringent, diaphoretic, diuretic and tonic[61, 222]. A tea has been used to check menstrual flow and to treat fevers, kidney stones, pleurisy etc[222]. The plant has a folk reputation for relieving malaria[222].
The inner bark has been chewed in the treatment of toothaches[222].

Other Uses

Wood.

Wood - light, tough. Of no commercial value[229].

Cultivation details

An easily grown plant[1], it prefers an open position in a moisture retentive or wet neutral to acid humus-rich soil[200]. Dislikes dryness at the roots[11]. A calcifuge plant, it dislikes alkaline soils[200]. Requires a sunny position[184].
Plants are hardy to about -25°c[184].
A fast-growing but short-lived species in the wild[229].
The flowers, and the dried leaves, have a soft sweet fragrance like newly mown hay[245].
A good bee plant[149].
Plants are sometimes evergreen[200].

Propagation

Seed - we have no details on this plant but would suggest sowing the seed as soon as it is ripe in an acid compost in a cold frame. Sow stored seed in late winter in a cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in a cold frame for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Cuttings of soft or semi-ripe wood, July in a frame[200].
Layering.

Scent

Leaves: Dried: The dried leaves have a soft sweet fragrance like newly mown hay.
Flowers: Fresh: The flowers have a soft sweet fragrance like newly mown hay.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[V] Images from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A&M Bioinformatics Working Group.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[S] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[S] Illustration from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[S] SW USA Dist. Maps from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
Images from the CalPhoto database.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[S] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[S] Illustration from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[DEN] Data _ Photos (Good Identification info) from the Virginia Tech's Dendrology Deptarments' Tree Fact Sheets.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database
[FEIS] Data (Uses, Ecology, Fire Effects) from the USDA Forestry Service Fire Effects Information System.
[FEIS] Data (Uses, Ecology, Fire Effects) from the USDA Forestry Service Fire Effects Information System.

References for the family Rubiaceae.

To be included in the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[43] Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950
A bit dated but good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[149] Vines. R. A. Trees of Central Texas. University of Texas Press 1987 ISBN 0-292-78958-3
Fairly readable, it gives details of habitats and some of the uses of trees growing in Texas.

[184] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Shrubs. Pan Books 1989 ISBN 0-330-30258-2
Excellent photographs and a terse description of 1900 species and cultivars.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[222] Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225
A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.

[229] Elias. T. The Complete Trees of N. America. Field Guide and Natural History. Van Nostrand Reinhold Co. 1980 ISBN 0442238622
A very good concise guide. Gives habitats, good descriptions, maps showing distribution and a few of the uses. It also includes the many shrubs that occasionally reach tree proportions.

[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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