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Cynoglossum officinale
| Common name: |
Hound's Tongue |
Family: |
Boraginaceae |
| Author: |
L. |
Botanical references: |
17, 200 |
| Synonyms: |
|
| Known Hazards: |
Houndstongue contains alkaloids that can cause cancer when the plant is consumed in large quantities[238].
The plant is also said to be slightly poisonous[21], there are no reported cases of human poisoning but there are some cases of cattle being poisoned[76]. The plant has a disagreeable odour and taste so is seldom eaten by animals[212].
Contact with the plant can cause dermatitis in sensitive people[222]. |
| Range: |
Europe, including Britain, though absent from the extreme north and rare in south, east to Asia. |
| Habitat: |
Dry grassy areas and the edges of woods, often near the sea, on sand, gravel, chalk or limestone soils[7, 17, 244]. |
| Edibility Rating (1-5): |
2 | Medicinal Rating (1-5): | 2 |
| Other Common Names: | From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below. |
| Cinoglosa [E], Common Hound's Tongue [L], Dog's Tongue [H], Gypsy-flower [B], Gypsyflower [P], Hound'S Tongue [E], Hound's Tongue [H,S], Hound's-tongue [L], Hounds Tongue [S], Houndstongue [S,FEIS], Kopekdili [E], Lengua De Perro [E], Radix Cynoglossum [E], Veldhondstong [D], |
| Epithets: | From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets |
|
officinale = sold as an herb;
|
| Systematics: | From a USDA
Plants Database |
|
Order: Lamiales. Borage family
|
| Other Range Info: |
From the Ethnobotany Database |
|
Argentina; Britain(Wales); Britainrainia; Europe; Greece; Spain; Turkey
|
| Noxious, Invasive and Injurious Weeds | From USDA
PLANTS database, Weeds Australia
, DEFRA Injurious Weeds | | Listed as noxious/invasive for: Colorado, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming. |
Physical Characteristics
Biennial/Perennial growing to 0.8m by 0.5m . It is hardy to zone 6. It is in flower from June to August, and the seeds ripen from August to September. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects.
The plant is self-fertile.
It is noted for attracting wildlife.
We rate it 2/5 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 moist soil.
The plant can tolerates strong winds but not maritime exposure.
Habitats and Possible Locations
Woodland, Sunny Edge.Edible Uses
Leaves.
Young leaves - raw or cooked[46, 61, 105, 177, 183]. A disagreeable
odour and taste[212]. Caution is advised, see the notes above on toxicity.
Medicinal Uses
Disclaimer
Analgesic; Antihaemorrhoidal; Antispasmodic; Astringent; Cancer; Digestive; Emollient; Narcotic.
Hound's tongue has a long history of use as a medicinal herb, though it
is rarely used in modern herbalism[7, 268]. The leaves contain allantoin, a
highly effective agent that speeds up the healing process in the body[238,
K]. Caution should be applied, however, since narcotic effects result from
large doses taken internally[7] and the plant is potentially
carcinogenic[222] (though it has also been used in the treatment of
cancer[218]). The leaves and roots are analgesic, antihaemorrhoidal,
antispasmodic, astringent, digestive, emollient and slightly narcotic[4, 7,
9, 21, 46, 222].
The plant contains the alkaloids cynoglossine and consolidin, which are used
medicinally to relieve pain[212]. They depress the central nervous system and
are also potentially carcinogenic[222]. The plant has been used internally in
the treatment of coughs and diarrhoea, though it is now mainly used
externally as a poultice on piles, wounds, minor injuries, bites and
ulcers[222, 238].
The root is harvested at the end of spring of the plants second year[7].
Another report says that it is best harvested in the autumn and dried for
later use[238].
The leaves and flowering shoots are harvested as the plant comes into flower
and are dried for later use[238].
The plant has a wide antitumour reputation for cancers of various
types[218].
A homeopathic remedy is made from the roots[7]. It is very effective in the
treatment of insomnia[7].
Other Uses
None known
Cultivation details
Prefers sandy, gravelly and basic soils[17]. Grows well in an ordinary
well-drained soil[1]. Succeeds in full sun or partial shade[238].
The flowers are an absolute magnet for bees[K].
The plant smells of mice[17].
Propagation
Seed - sow in situ in early summer. The seed can be sown in spring or
autumn, a period of cold stratification improves germination.
Scent
-
Leaves: Crushed
- The plant smells of mice.
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.
- [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] Image
from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
- [S] Image
from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
- [S] Image
from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
- [G] Data
(Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
- [C] Taxon data.
from the CalFlora database.
- Images
from the CalPhoto database.
- [P] Data.
(uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
- [S] SW USA Dist. Maps
from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
- [FEIS] Data
(Uses, Ecology, Fire Effects) from the USDA Forestry Service Fire Effects Information System.
- [HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database
References for the family Boraginaceae.
See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.
Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.
[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.
[9] Launert. E. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn 1981 ISBN 0-600-37216-2
Covers plants in Europe. a drawing of each plant, quite a bit of interesting information.
[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.
[21] Lust. J. The Herb Book. Bantam books 1983 ISBN 0-553-23827-2
Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.
[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.
[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.
[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.
[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.
[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.
[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
[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.
[212] Craighead. J., Craighead. F. and Davis. R. A Field Guide to Rocky Mountain Wildflowers The Riverside Press 1963 ISBN 63-7093
Excellent little pocket guide to the area, covering 590 species and often giving details of their uses.
[218] Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985 ISBN 0-917256-20-4
Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.
[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.
[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.
[244] Phillips. R. & Foy. N. Herbs Pan Books Ltd. London. 1990 ISBN 0-330-30725-8
Deals with all types of herbs including medicinal, culinary, scented and dye plants. Excellent photographs with quite good information on each plant.
[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.
[268] Stuart. M. (Editor) The Encyclopedia of Herbs and Herbalism Orbis Publishing. London. 1979 ISBN 0-85613-067-2
Excellent herbal with good concise information on over 400 herbs.
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Plant information taken from the
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