Cynanchum laeve

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Cynanchum laeve
Cynanchum laeve NRCS-1.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Gentianales
Family: Apocynaceae
Genus: Cynanchum
Species:
C. laeve
Binomial name
Cynanchum laeve
Synonyms

Ampelamus albidus
Ampelamus laevis
Gonolobus laevis

Contents

Cynanchum laeve' Cynanchum laeve (Michx.) Pers.jpg
Cynanchum laeve'

Cynanchum laeve is a vining perennial herb native to eastern and central U.S. states and Ontario. Common names include sand vine, honeyvine, honeyvine milkweed, bluevine milkweed, climbing milkweed, and smooth swallow-wort. [2] The root system of C. laeve can cause it to be very difficult to eradicate, especially in agricultural fields. [3] It is a larval food of monarch butterflies [4] and milkweed tussock moth larvae. [5] C. laeve can cause eye irritation if touched and can be toxic to humans and livestock if consumed in large quantities. [6]

Taxonomy

Cynanchum laeve was originally described in 1803 as Gonolobus laevis Michx. Mixed elements on the type sheet that was published has led to confusion around the correct nomenclature. [7] Currently under the International Plant Names Index it is listed as Cynanchum laeve Pers. [8] Synonymous plant names include Ampelamus albidus (Nutt.) Britton, Ampelamus laevis (Michx.) Krings, and Gonolobus laevis Michx. [9] Cynanchum laeve is in the Apocynaceae, or milkweed family. Cynanchum, or swallow-wort genus, and the laeve, which is a specific epithet meaning smooth . [9]

Description

Cynanchum laeve is a twining vine with heart-shaped leaves and commonly found in roadsides, fence rows, fields, and disturbed areas. C. laeve is easily recognized as a member of the Apocynaceae by its opposite leaves, [10] milky sap, and distinctive flowers and follicles ("milkweed pods"). The seeds are wind dispersed and can travel long distances. Each plant can produce up to 50 follicles. The root system is fleshy and brittle with a large taproot with other lateral roots, these roots can grow up through 6 feet deep. Developing stems are a light pink and produce a milky sap when broken. [3] Vase-shaped flowers have 5 white petals. These occur in clusters on short stalks. [3] C. laeve flowers from June through September. [3]

Distribution and habitat

Cynanchum laeve occurs in the eastern and central United States and Ontario, Canada. [11] C. laeve can be found in wetland areas in the arid West, Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain, Eastern mountain and Piedmont, the Great Plains, Midwest, and the North Central and North Eastern United States. [9] [12] [13] Cynanchum laeve typically lives in disturbed habitats such as thickets, low moist fields, riverbanks, fence rows, and cultivated fields. [3]

Conservation status

In Pennsylvania, Cynanchum laeve is listed as endangered. [9]

Insect use

Cynanchum laeve is a food plant of caterpillars of monarch butterflies. [4] [14] Larvae of Euchaetes egle , the milkweed tussock moth, both in the Eastern and Western United States consume C. laeve. The larvae of these moths eat Cynanchum laeve and other plants when developing. [5]

Human use

Cynanchum laeve is not a human edible plant. Its sap can cause eye irritation damaging mucous membranes. If C. laeve is consumed in large quantities it can be toxic. Thorough hand washing is recommended after handling the plant. [6]

Hay fed to livestock can contain C. laeve which can be toxic when consumed in large quantities. Most animals will not eat C. laeve due to its bitter taste. [6] It is recommended by the US Fish and Wildlife Service to take precautionary steps. These steps include not grazing hungry animals in pastures containing C. laeve, eradicating it from driveways and trails, and closely observing livestock that have just been introduced to areas containing C. laeve. [15] C. laeve can be very difficult to eradicate from fields because of its deep, extensive root system. This vine climbs on other plants, and this can cause problems in crop harvesting. [3]

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monarch butterfly</span> Milkweed butterfly in the family Nymphalidae

The monarch butterfly or simply monarch is a milkweed butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. Other common names, depending on region, include milkweed, common tiger, wanderer, and black-veined brown. It is among the most familiar of North American butterflies and an iconic pollinator, although it is not an especially effective pollinator of milkweeds. Its wings feature an easily recognizable black, orange, and white pattern, with a wingspan of 8.9–10.2 cm (3.5–4.0 in). A Müllerian mimic, the viceroy butterfly, is similar in color and pattern, but is markedly smaller and has an extra black stripe across each hindwing.

<i>Asclepias</i> Genus of flowering plants

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<i>Calotropis procera</i> Species of plant

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<i>Cynanchum</i> Genus of flowering plants in the dogbane family Apocynaceae

Cynanchum is a genus of about 300 species including some swallowworts, belonging to the family Apocynaceae. The taxon name comes from Greek kynos and anchein, hence the common name for several species is dog-strangling vine. Most species are non-succulent climbers or twiners. There is some evidence of toxicity.

<i>Asclepias syriaca</i> Species of flowering plant

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queen (butterfly)</span> Species of butterfly

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<i>Asclepias asperula</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Euchaetes egle</i> Species of moth

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<i>Asclepias curassavica</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Vincetoxicum rossicum</i> Species of plant

Vincetoxicum rossicum is a flowering plant in the family Apocynaceae. It is a perennial herb native to southern Europe and is a highly invasive plant growing in all of the Eastern United States, in the mid west, and southern Ontario and Quebec in Canada. It has several common names including swallowwort, pale swallowwort, and dog-strangling vine; though it does not actually strangle dogs, it can “strangle” native plants and small trees if it is in dense patches. There has historically been much confusion about the genus it belongs to, with authors placing it within Vincetoxicum and others within Cynanchum, but recent molecular and chemical analyses have shown it to belong in the genus Vincetoxicum.

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<i>Cynanchum guehoi</i> Species of plant

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Kleptopharmacophagy is a term used for describing the ecological relationship between two different organisms, where the first is stealing the second's chemical compounds and consuming them. This scientific term was proposed by Australian, Singaporean, and American biologists in September 2021 in an article that was published in the journal Ecology by the Ecological Society of America. The phenomenon was first noticed in milkweed butterflies that were attacking caterpillars and drinking their internal liquid, proposedly to obtain toxic alkaloids used for defense, as well as for mating purposes.

References

  1. 1913 illustration from Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An illustrated flora of the northern United States, Canada and the British Possessions. 3 vols. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York. Vol. 3: 36
  2. "Cynanchum laeve (Michx.) Pers. — The Plant List". www.theplantlist.org. Retrieved 2018-11-28.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Ohio Weedguide". www.oardc.ohio-state.edu. Retrieved 2018-11-28.
  4. 1 2 Kansas Native Plants: Butterfly Gardening
  5. 1 2 Karges, Joann (June 2018). "From Weed to Wondrous". Natural History. 126 (6): 36, 38–41. ProQuest   2043654059.
  6. 1 2 3 "Spreading Milkweed, Not Myths - Updates from The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service" . Retrieved 2020-05-14.
  7. Krings, Alexander (2001). "Neotypification of Enslenia Albida and a New Combination in Ampelamus for Cynanchum Laeve (Apocynaceae: Asclepiadoideae)". SIDA, Contributions to Botany. 19 (4): 925–929. JSTOR   41967945.
  8. IPNI Plant Name Details . Retrieved 2018-11-28.{{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  9. 1 2 3 4 "Plants Profile for Cynanchum laeve (honeyvine)". plants.usda.gov. Retrieved 2018-11-28.
  10. "Cynanchum laeve page". www.missouriplants.com. Retrieved 2018-11-28.
  11. "US Southeast flora atlas". www.herbarium.unc.edu. Retrieved 2018-11-28.
  12. "Maryland Biodiversity Project - Honey Vine (Cynanchum laeve)". www.marylandbiodiversity.com. Retrieved 2018-11-28.
  13. "Cynanchum laeve - Species Details". Atlas of Florida Plants. Retrieved 2018-11-28.
  14. Lovett, Jim. "Milkweed". Monarch Watch. Retrieved 2018-11-28.
  15. Delserone, Leslie M. (10 July 2014). "The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation (http://www.xerces.org)". Journal of Agricultural & Food Information. 15 (3): 153–158. doi:10.1080/10496505.2014.924378.