Habitat
Type: hedges
Distribution: throughout northern hemisphere
Other: locally prolific

General
Growth type: climbing herb
Cycle: perennial
Height: up to 3 meters

Leaf
Shape: arrow
Edge: smooth

Stem
Other: winds around other plants for support

Flower
Shape: bell
Diameter: 35 mm
Petals/sepals: 2 bracts, 5 narrow sepals
When: June to September
Colour:

laxative - can cause gastric upset.

May be mistaken for Great Bindweed (C. silvatica)

April to August
April to September
all year

How to Consume
cook
Nutrition
starch, sugar

Used as ...
food

Action:
demulcent, diuretic, febrifuge, purgative

May treat:
as poultice: boils will erupt within 24 hours

temporary cordage

Plant parts:
leaf
stem or trunk
sap
root, bulb, tuber and other below ground parts
flower
fruit
seed

Use:
culinary use
medicinal use
household use

Other:
caution

General Glossary

• bract: leaf of scale below calyx; parts of cone
• calyx: collection of individual or, usually, joined sepals
• sepal: protects bud before flower opens, forms leaf-like ring at base of flower, usually green

Glossary of Medicinal Terms and Nutritive Substances

• demulcent: rich in mucilage, soothes or protects irritated or inflamed tissue (especially mucousa)
• diuretic: increases secretion and elimination of urine
• febrifuge: reduces fever; use only for dangerously high temperature; a raised temperature is the body's way of burning up the pathogen
• purgative: produces evacuation of the bowels (more severe than aperients or laxatives)