cynanchum

[Gr. kyōn =a dog, and angcho =to pre tight, to strangle. So named from its poisonous properties.] Bot.: A genus of plants, order Asclepiadacese, tribe Asclepiadese. The corolla is somewhat rotate and five-parted, with a coronet of five to twenty lobed appendages; pollen ma es ventricose, follicles smooth. A widely diffused genus, extending from 50° N. to 32° S. latitude. What was formerly called Cynanchum vincetoxicum , now Vincetoxicum of ficin ale, a native of the continent of Europe, is emetic and purgative. It was once valued as an antidote to poisons. C. acutum is also a drastic purgative. C. monspeliacum , a native of Southern Europe, furnishes Montpellier Scammony. C. argel , which grows in Upper Egypt, generally comes to this country mixed with the genuine senna leaves, not, however, it is believed, as an intentional adulterant. C. oval i folium , which grows in Penang, yields caoutchouc.