Herb: Silk Vine


Latin name: Periploca graeca


Family: Asclepiadaceae (Milkweed Family)



Medicinal use of Silk Vine:

Cardiac, diuretic, stimulant, tonic.

Description of the plant:



Plant:
Deciduous
Climber

Height:
9 m
(30 feet)

Flowering:
July to
August


Scent:
Scented
Climber

Habitat of the herb:

Woods, thickets and riverbanks.

Propagation of Silk Vine:

Seed - sow spring in a cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Division of roots in the spring as soon as new growth commences. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 5 - 10cm at a node or preferably with a heel, singly in pots of sand. Fair to good percentage. Layering in September/October. Takes 6 months. High percentage.

Cultivation of the herb:

Woods, thickets and riverbanks.

Known hazards of Periploca graeca:

The sap and the fruit is poisonous.

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future.