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Cymbalaria muralis

Cymbalaria muralis: Flowers
Photo by Ken Fern. High resolution version

Common name:	Kenilworth Ivy	Family:	Scrophulariaceae
Author:	P.Gaertn.B.Mey.&Scherb.	Botanical references:	17, 200
Synonyms:	Linaria cymbalaria ((L.)Mill.)
Known Hazards:	The plant might be slightly toxic[76]
Range:	S. Europe. Naturalized in Britain.
Habitat:	Walls and other well-drained sites, shady rocks and woods, usually on calcareous soils[17, 50].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	Antirrhinum cymbalaria[G] C. hederacea[H]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Aaron's Beard [H], Cimbalaria [E], Climbing Sailor [H], Coliseum Ivy [L], Hashishat Ash Shuquq [E], Ivy-leaved Toadflax [H,L], Ivywort [H], Kenilworth Ivy [L,H,P], Kenilworth-ivy [B], Muurleeuwenbek [D],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	cymbalaria = cymbal like;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Scrophulariales. Figwort family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Iraq; Spain

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 0.1m by 0.4m . It is hardy to zone 3 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from May to September, and the seeds ripen from July to October. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees. The plant is self-fertile. We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland). It requires dry or moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge, In Walls, In North Wall, In South Wall, In East Wall, In West Wall.

Edible Uses

Leaves.

Leaves - raw[4, 115, 177]. The leaves have been used in salads, being acrid and pungent like cress[4]. We find them rather bitter and not very pleasant, though they are available all year round and so might be useful in the winter[K]. Some caution is advised, see the notes above on toxicity.

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Antiscorbutic; Vulnerary.

The herb is antiscorbutic and vulnerary[4, 7]. It is used externally as a poultice on fresh wounds to stop the bleeding[7]. There are reports that it has been used with success in India for the treatment of diabetes[4, 240].

Other Uses

Dye.

A clear yellow dye is obtained from the flowers, though it is not very permanent[4, 115].

Cultivation details

Prefers a moderately good soil and some shade[1].
Plants usually self-sow freely[188] and can be invasive, especially when grown on old walls[200]. They succeed both on dry-stone walls and on old mortared walls[219].

Propagation

Seed - surface sow March to June in a cold frame and do not exclude light. The seed usually germinates in 2 - 4 weeks at 18°c[164]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out into their permanent positions in the summer.
Division in late spring. Very easy, larger clumps can be replanted direct into their permanent positions, though it is best to pot up smaller clumps and grow them on in a cold frame until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the spring.

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
[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.
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora 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.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Linaria cymbalaria (a possible synonym).

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.

References for the family Scrophulariaceae.

[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

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[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.

[7] Chiej. R. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald 1984 ISBN 0-356-10541-5
Covers plants growing in Europe. Also gives other interesting information on the plants. Good photographs.

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[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.

[76] Cooper. M. and Johnson. A. Poisonous Plants in Britain and their Effects on Animals and Man. HMSO 1984 ISBN 0112425291
Concentrates mainly on the effects of poisonous plants to livestock.

[115] Johnson. C. P. The Useful Plants of Great Britain.
Written about a hundred years ago, but still a very good guide to the useful plants of Britain.

[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.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[188] Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. 1990 ISBN 0-86318-386-7
Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.

[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.

[219] Grey-Wilson. C. & Matthews. V. Gardening on Walls Collins 1983 ISBN 0-00-219220-0
A nice little book about plants for growing against walls and a small section on plants that can grow in walls.

[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

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