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Bryonia dioica
White bryony, is a perennial climbing vine indigenous to Central and Southern Europe. It is a flowering plant of the genus Bryonia with five-pointed leaves and blue or white flowers. The vine produces a red berry fruit. The plant is sometimes used in herbal medicine. It is a powerful cathartic and purgative. It is primarily prescribed for painful rheumatic conditions. The root is cathartic, cytotoxic, diaphoretic, expectorant, hydrogogue, irritant, pectoral, purgative and vermifugal.
Spotted in the dry bed of a small brook in a forest of Holm oak and pine trees
B. dioica is generally toxic to humans. The seed of this vine, by contrast, is safely edible, and finds use in Western Europe as an ingredient in starch dishes.
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