Canadian Moonseed
Encyclopedia
Menispermum canadense (Canadian Moonseed, Common Moonseed, or Yellow Parilla) is a flowering plant
in the family Menispermaceae
, native to eastern North America
, from southern Canada
south to northern Florida
, and from the Atlantic coast west to Manitoba
and Texas
. It occurs in thickets, moist woods, and the banks of streams.
growing to 6 m tall. The leaves
palmately lobed, 5-20 cm diameter with 3-7 shallow lobes, occasionally rounded and unlobed. The fruit
are produced in 6-10 cm diameter clusters of purple-black berries
, each berry is 1-1.5 cm in diameter. The seed inside the berry resembles a crescent moon
, and is responsible for the common name. The fruit is ripe between September and October, the same general time frame in which wild grapes are ripe.
Both the leaves and fruit resemble that of the Fox Grape
(Vitis labrusca); confusion can be dangerous as Moonseed fruit is poison
ous, unlike the edible Fox Grape fruit.
The root is a rhizome
, so one specimen can form colonies of genetically identical plants.
dauricine
. The fruit of Canada Moonseed are poisonous and can be fatal. While foraging for wild grapes one should examine the seeds of the fruit to make sure one is not eating moonseeds: moonseeds have a single crescent
-shaped seed, while grapes have round seeds. Differences in taste should also be an indicator of whether or not a specimen is grape or Moonseed, moonseeds have a taste that is described as "rank". Also, the moonseed vine lacks tendrils
, whilst the vine of the wild grape has forked tendrils
.
used Moonseed as a laxative
, and as a gynecological and venereal aid. The root was used for skin diseases. The Lenape
used it in a salve
for sores on the skin
. It has been used for a variety of medicinal uses by Americans
of Europe
an descent.
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
in the family Menispermaceae
Menispermaceae
Menispermaceae, the botanical name for a family of flowering plants, has been universally recognized by taxonomists. Tubocurare, a neuromuscular blocker and active ingredient in curare, is derived from plants of this family....
, native to eastern North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, from southern Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
south to northern Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, and from the Atlantic coast west to Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
and Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. It occurs in thickets, moist woods, and the banks of streams.
Growth
It is a woody climbing vineVine
A vine in the narrowest sense is the grapevine , but more generally it can refer to any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent, that is to say climbing, stems or runners...
growing to 6 m tall. The leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
palmately lobed, 5-20 cm diameter with 3-7 shallow lobes, occasionally rounded and unlobed. The fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
are produced in 6-10 cm diameter clusters of purple-black berries
Berry
The botanical definition of a berry is a fleshy fruit produced from a single ovary. Grapes are an example. The berry is the most common type of fleshy fruit in which the entire ovary wall ripens into an edible pericarp. They may have one or more carpels with a thin covering and fleshy interiors....
, each berry is 1-1.5 cm in diameter. The seed inside the berry resembles a crescent moon
Lunar phase
A lunar phase or phase of the moon is the appearance of the illuminated portion of the Moon as seen by an observer, usually on Earth. The lunar phases change cyclically as the Moon orbits the Earth, according to the changing relative positions of the Earth, Moon, and Sun...
, and is responsible for the common name. The fruit is ripe between September and October, the same general time frame in which wild grapes are ripe.
Both the leaves and fruit resemble that of the Fox Grape
Vitis labrusca
Vitis labrusca is a species of grapevines belonging to the Vitis genus in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The vines are native to the eastern United States and are the source of many grape cultivars, including Catawba and Concord grapes, and many hybrid grape varieties such as Agawam,...
(Vitis labrusca); confusion can be dangerous as Moonseed fruit is poison
Poison
In the context of biology, poisons are substances that can cause disturbances to organisms, usually by chemical reaction or other activity on the molecular scale, when a sufficient quantity is absorbed by an organism....
ous, unlike the edible Fox Grape fruit.
The root is a rhizome
Rhizome
In botany and dendrology, a rhizome is a characteristically horizontal stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes...
, so one specimen can form colonies of genetically identical plants.
Toxicity
All parts of these plants are known to be poisonous. The principal toxin is the alkaloidAlkaloid
Alkaloids are a group of naturally occurring chemical compounds that contain mostly basic nitrogen atoms. This group also includes some related compounds with neutral and even weakly acidic properties. Also some synthetic compounds of similar structure are attributed to alkaloids...
dauricine
Dauricine
Dauricine is a calcium channel blocker. It is the main toxin that makes the North American vine Menispermum canadense poisonous ....
. The fruit of Canada Moonseed are poisonous and can be fatal. While foraging for wild grapes one should examine the seeds of the fruit to make sure one is not eating moonseeds: moonseeds have a single crescent
Crescent
In art and symbolism, a crescent is generally the shape produced when a circular disk has a segment of another circle removed from its edge, so that what remains is a shape enclosed by two circular arcs of different diameters which intersect at two points .In astronomy, a crescent...
-shaped seed, while grapes have round seeds. Differences in taste should also be an indicator of whether or not a specimen is grape or Moonseed, moonseeds have a taste that is described as "rank". Also, the moonseed vine lacks tendrils
Tendril
In botany, a tendril is a specialized stem, leaf or petiole with a threadlike shape that is used by climbing plants for support, attachment and cellular invasion by parasitic plants, generally by twining around suitable hosts. They do not have a lamina or blade, but they can photosynthesize...
, whilst the vine of the wild grape has forked tendrils
Tendril
In botany, a tendril is a specialized stem, leaf or petiole with a threadlike shape that is used by climbing plants for support, attachment and cellular invasion by parasitic plants, generally by twining around suitable hosts. They do not have a lamina or blade, but they can photosynthesize...
.
Traditional uses
The CherokeeCherokee
The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
used Moonseed as a laxative
Laxative
Laxatives are foods, compounds, or drugs taken to induce bowel movements or to loosen the stool, most often taken to treat constipation. Certain stimulant, lubricant, and saline laxatives are used to evacuate the colon for rectal and/or bowel examinations, and may be supplemented by enemas under...
, and as a gynecological and venereal aid. The root was used for skin diseases. The Lenape
Lenape
The Lenape are an Algonquian group of Native Americans of the Northeastern Woodlands. They are also called Delaware Indians. As a result of the American Revolutionary War and later Indian removals from the eastern United States, today the main groups live in Canada, where they are enrolled in the...
used it in a salve
Salve
A salve is a medical ointment used to soothe the head or other body surface. A popular eye medicine known as "Phrygian powder" was one of Laodicea's sources of wealth...
for sores on the skin
Skin
-Dermis:The dermis is the layer of skin beneath the epidermis that consists of connective tissue and cushions the body from stress and strain. The dermis is tightly connected to the epidermis by a basement membrane. It also harbors many Mechanoreceptors that provide the sense of touch and heat...
. It has been used for a variety of medicinal uses by Americans
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an descent.
General references
- Lee Allen Peterson, Edible Wild Plants, (New York City: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1977), p. 50.
External links
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