Black Bryony
Black Bryony (Tamus communis, syn. Dioscorea communis (L.) Caddick & Wilkin) is
a flowering plant, in the yam family Dioscoreaceae, native to Europe, northwest
Africa and western Asia.
It is a climbing herbaceous plant growing to 2-4 m tall, with twining stems. The
leaves are spirally arranged, heart-shaped, up to 10 cm long and 8 cm broad,
with a petiole up to 5 cm long. It is dioecious, with separate male and female
plants. The flowers are individually inconspicuous, greenish-yellow, 3-6 mm
diameter, with six petals; the male flowers produced in slender 5-10 cm racemes,
the female flowers in shorter clusters. The fruit is a bright red berry, 1 cm
diameter. Its fairly large tuber is, like the rest of the plant, poisonous.