Red Bryony

Description

Bryonia dioica, known by the common names red bryony and white bryony, also English mandrake or ladies' seal, is a perennial climbing vine indigenous to Central and Southern Europe. It is a flowering plant in the cucumber family Cucurbitaceae with five-pointed leaves and blue or white flowers. The vine produces a red berry fruit. Bryonia dioica is generally toxic to humans. Application of its juice to the skin produces inflammation with a rash or ulcers, and consumption of this juice causes intense gastrointestinal irritation including nausea and vomiting in small doses, and anxiety, paralysis, or death in larger amounts.[citation needed] The seed of this vine, by contrast, is safely edible, and finds use in Western Europe as an ingredient in starch dishes.