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Convolvulus scammonia
Scammony is a twining perennial bindweed from the eastern Mediterranean, grown mainly as a botanical or medicinal curiosity rather than an ornamental. It rewards a sunny, well-drained spot and tolerates dry conditions once established.
Convolvulus scammonia, commonly known as scammony, is a bindweed native to the countries of the eastern part of the Mediterranean basin; it grows in bushy waste places, from Syria in the south to Crimea in the north, its range extending westward to the Greek islands, but not to northern Africa or Italy. It is a twining perennial, bearing flowers like those of Convolvulus arvensis, and having irregularly arrow-shaped leaves and a thick fleshy root.
A cathartic resinous tincture known as scammoniae resina, which is obtained from the dried root by digestion with ethanol has been used as a traditional medicine. Upon consumption, the resin is inert until it has passed from the stomach into the duodenum, where it meets the bile.
Mallow bindweed · Field Bindweed · Silverbush · Ground Blue Convolvulus · Convolvulus sepium · Bindweed
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Convolvulus scammonia by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
