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Botanical Name: Apocynum Cannabinum (LINN.), Apocynum Androsaemum
Family: N.O. Apocynaceae
Common names: hemp dogbane, black hemp, black Indian hemp, Canadian hemp, American hemp, amy-root, bowmans root, bitterroot, Indian-physic, rheumatism weed, milkweed, wild cotton, Choctaw-root
Synonyms: Black Indian Hemp. Dogsbane.
Parts Used: Dried rhizome, roots.
Habitat: United States of America, Canada.

Description:

It is a herbaceous plant with stems ascending to erect reaching 30-120 cm in height. Leaves opposite with 5-15 cm long blades. Flower fragrant, small, corolla cylindric to urn-shaped, 5-lobed. The seed pod (follicle) slender, cylindric, pointed, shaped like a smooth, curved green bean, generally longer than 12 cm. A thick milky, poisonous juice exudes from any broken portion of the plant. USE: The flowers are a source of honey. Fibres are extracted from the inner layer of the bark. The fibre is excellent for making fishing lines and nets because it keeps its strength under water and does not shrink. It can also be used in the manufacture of deer nets, slings for hunting small game, nooses for snaring grouse and other game birds, hide stretchers, moccasins, clothing, woven bedding for baby cradles, wheels used in a type of dart game, tump lines and cat-tail mats. For making garments, the fibre was sometimes mixed with deer hair before spinning, Although this plant is considered toxic to humans (and the bane of dogs), the roots were commonly harvested in the 19th and early 20th centuries for a variety of folk medicine and medical purposes. GROWING PERIOD: Perennial.

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In parts of the United States it is listed as a noxious weed. Found in cultivated fields, pastures, rangeland, open woods, fencerows, roadsides, dry rocky or open woods, glades and prairies. It can be found growing in moist or shady places and is easily cultivated in average, dry to medium wet, well-drained soil. It prefers sandy soil but will grow in most soils in sun or light shade.

This plant must not be confused with Indian Hemp (Cannabis Indica). Both species have a milky juice and a tough fibrous bark, which when macerated affords a substitute for hemp, hence its common name. It is used in California for making twine, bags, cordage, fishing-nets, lines, and a coarse kind of linen. When the milky juice is properly dried it exhibits the properties of india-rubber. The corolla of this plant secretes a sweet liquid, which attracts flies and other insects to settle on them; the scales in the throat of the corolla are very sensitive, and as soon as the insects settle on them, they bend inwards and make them prisoners. None of these plants possess any great beauty, all are more or less poisonous and acrid. In Apocynum Cannabinum, a perennial herb, the stems and branches are upright, headed by erect many-flowered stems, leaves nearly sessile; it grows in gravelly or sandy soil, mostly near streams. While A. Androsaemifolium, or Dogsbane, has spreading forked branches, leaves slender petioled cymes, loose and spreading, grows in dry thickets and open woods, and is distinguished from A. Cannabinum by the root, thick-walled stone cells which are arranged in a broken circle, near middle of the bark, short fracture, with some pith occurring in pieces of the rhizome, very slight odour, taste starchy, afterwards bitter and acrid.

Time of bloom: June to August.
Seed-time: August to October.

Constituents: The activity of the plants is due to a very bitter principle of a glucose nature to which is applied the name of Symarin. Apocynum belongs to the digitalis group of heart tonics, and acts very much in the same way, differing only from foxglove in the relative degree of its different effects. It is the most powerful of the group, often causing sickness and diarrhoea; it acts more irritantly on the mucous membrane than either strophanthus, or digitalis, and it may be this stimulating effect which is the cause of its violent diuretic action, though some authorities consider that this is caused by dilatation of the renal arteries. A. Docynum is the crystalline lactone cynotoxin, the crystalline substance. Apocynin is identical with acetovanillone. A. Androsaemifolium contains apocyanamarin, identical with cynotoxin, also apocynin and its glucoside, androsin ipuranil; the two phytosterols androsterol and homo-androsterol, and other fatty acids.

Medicinal Action and Uses: Diuretic, diaphoretic, expectorant. Should only be prescribed with the greatest caution. It is a very valuable heart tonic of great service in dropsy resulting from heart failure; it is also to be highly recommended in the ascites of hepatic cirrhosis, but care must be taken that it does not accumulate in the system. It causes violent vomiting.

It is used to treat congestive heart failure as it contains cardio- active glycosides This herb doesn’t have an edge over digitalis and hence is not advisable to be used by any human.

Dosage: 1 to 5 grains.

Preparations: Fluid extract of Apocynum, U.S.P., 15 minims. Tincture of Apocynum, 5 to 10 minims.

Other Species:
HEMP, AFRICAN, or Bowstring (Sanseviera guineenesis, N.O. Liliaceae), native of tropical Africa, also S. Roxburghiana, a native of India, and S. Angolensis, native of western tropical Africa. The leaves contain much fibre for making ropes, the latter producing the best kind of fibre for deep-sea soundings and dredging lines.

HEMP, KENTUCKY (Urtica Canadensis and Cannabina, N. O. Urticaceae), natives of Canada and Northern U.S. These also contain a strong fibre and are known by the name given above.

HEMP, MANILLA, the fibre of Musitextilis (N.O. Musaceae), native of the Philippines, cultivated in India, and other countries, for its fibre, of which there are two qualities, the finer made into shawls and the coarser into ropes.

HEMP, SUNN, the Indian name for the fibre of Crotalaria Juncea (N.O. Leguminosae), native of India; it gives a very strong fibre, useful for ropes, canvas, etc.

HEMP, JUBBULPORE (Crotalaria tenuifolia), The plant closely resembles Sunn Hemp (C. Juncea).

Disclaimer:The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplements, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.
Resources:

http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/h/hemcan21.html

http://www.ayurveda-herbal-remedy.com/herbal-encyclopedia/index.html

http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/cropView?id=12393

http://chestofbooks.com/flora-plants/

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