Bryonia alba

Both species have been used as medicinal plants since ancient times. They have been cultivated at times in the past in Europe and become feral, hence the high northern distribution area limit for Cucurbitaceae in this area. B. dioica is the more western species, B. alba the more eastern (to Kazakhstan); in central Europe (including Denmark, N Italy and Yugoslavia) both species occur. Apart from decorative use of the foliage, both species have also been cultivated as medicinal plants and it is not always clear which species was being referred to (officinal "Radix bryoniae"). Bryonia was known to be in cultivation in, e.g., montane villages in Silesia and Bohemia, and also in Brazil, and in recent times in central Europe, e.g., near Erfurt for seed collection. The rootstock is now used only in homeopathic medicine. Wild distribution: Central and E Europe, S Scandinavia, Asia Minor; Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.