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Convolvulus scammonia

Common name:	Scammony	Family:	Convolvulaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	50, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Europe - Mediterranean, to W. Asia.
Habitat:	Scrub and forest margins[50].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	0	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Heleblab [E], Jalap [H], Mahmude [E], Scammony [S,P,E,H], Squmania [E], Syrian Bindweed [H],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Solanales. Morning-glory family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Germany Iraq Syria Turkey
Noxious, Invasive and Injurious Weeds	From USDA PLANTS database, Weeds Australia , DEFRA Injurious Weeds
	Listed as noxious/invasive for: Utah.

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 0.75m. It is hardy to zone 7. It is in flower in July, and the seeds ripen in September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees and flies. The plant is self-fertile. We rate it 0/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils, requires well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. The plant prefers neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade.

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Cathartic Hydrogogue.

A resin is obtained from the root. The earth is cleared away from the top of the root, the top is then cut off obliquely about 5cm below the point where the stalks spring forth. The exuding juice is collected, which gradually hardens[4]. This resin is a drastic cathartic and hydrogogue and should be used with great caution[4, 46, 61]. The roots contain about 8% resin[240].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Prefers a light basic sharply drained soil of low to medium fertility[4, 200]. Prefers a sunny sheltered position. Thrives in dry soils[4] and succeeds in ordinary garden soils.
The root can be up to 1.2 metres long, so for best results a deep soil is required[4].

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in a greenhouse[164]. Germination can be slow and erratic, a period of cold stratification might help reduce the germination period. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them out in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Division in spring.
Cuttings of young shoots, August in a frame in sand[1].

Suppliers

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

Web References

Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[S] Illustration from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[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.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for the family Convolvulaceae.

[CHINA] Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from 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]).

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[50] ? Flora Europaea Cambridge University Press 1964
An immense work in 6 volumes (including the index). The standard reference flora for europe, it is very terse though and with very little extra information. Not for the casual reader.

[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.

[164] Bird. R. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 4. Thompson and Morgan. 1990
Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. A good article on Yuccas, one on Sagebrush (Artemesia spp) and another on Chaerophyllum bulbosum.

[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.

[240] Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. 1986
Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.

Readers Comments

Morning Glory Website

Rich (michael@thewitchshaven.com) Tue Oct 24 09:27:47 2000

An interesting page from a Convolvulaceae enthusiast which features many pictures of the plants and a seed swap area. The page is at http://www.exoticplants.org.uk/.

Cross references: Plants: Calystegia japonica. Genera: Calystegia, Ipomoea, Convolvulus.

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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
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963

This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Convolvulus+scammonia
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Convolvulus+scammonia

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We make no claims of magical effects or supernatural powers for any item in this catalog. In spite of legendary attributes or occult and craft tradition, such items are offered as curios only and beliefs concerning their magical effectiveness are related only for historical interest.