(dogbane)

(Li Bingtao)

Scientific name: Apocynum venetum L.. It is named Apocynum because it is produced in Lop Nur, Xinjiang. Apocynaceae, genus Apocynum (there are about 14 species in this genus, distributed in the northern temperate zone. There is only one species in China). Subshrub, 2 to 4 meters tall, with latex. Branches purple or light red. The leaves are opposite, oval or elliptical-lanceolate, 1 to 5 cm long, 0.5 to 1.5 cm wide, finely toothed, hairless; there are glands at the base of the petiole and between the axils. Panic cymes; calyx 5-lobed, covered with pubescence; corolla bell-shaped, purple-red or pink, densely covered with granular protrusions on both sides, corolla lobes 5, almost as long as the crown tube; accessory corolla and stamens 5 , born at the base of the corolla tube; the disc is fleshy and ring-shaped; the ovary is 2-lobed and hairy. The follicles are cylindrical, 20 cm long, 3 mm in diameter, and drooping. The seeds are small and the top hairs are 2.5 cm long. The flowering period is from April to September, and the fruit ripening period is from July to December. Produced in areas north of the Huaihe River, Qinling Mountains and Kunlun Mountains in China, it grows most in the Qaidam Basin, Tarim Basin, Hexi Corridor, western Inner Mongolia and the wastelands along the Bohai Sea in Shandong and Hebei. It is also distributed in temperate zones of Europe and Asia. It likes light very much and is resistant to drought, salt and alkali, severe cold, heat and strong winds. It has no strict requirements on soil and is more suitable for growing in sandy loam. Very strong vitality, ratoon can live for more than 30 years. It is easy to survive by propagating from seeds, divisions, root cuttings and cuttings. The stem bark fiber is slender, flexible and shiny, with excellent properties such as corrosion resistance, wear resistance and tensile resistance. It is a raw material for advanced textile and defense industries. The leaves contain 4 to 5% gum and can be used to extract rubber. The leaves are used as medicine and have the effects of lowering blood pressure, calming the nerves, sedating, and diuresis. The young leaves can be used to make drinks. The roots contain components such as alkaloids and glycosides, which can be used medicinally. The peeled stems can be used as thermal building materials. The flowers are fragrant and are excellent nectar plants. The common name Apocynum is not just one kind of plant, but actually includes 3 species of plants in 2 genera of the same family, namely Apocynum, Poacynum pictum (Schrenk) Baill., and P. hendersonii (Hook. f.) Woodson]. Their ecological properties and economic uses are roughly the same. However, the corolla of the latter two is pelvic-shaped, and the branches and leaves are alternate. The leaves of white linen are strip-shaped or strip-lanceolate, and the leaves of large-leaf white linen are elliptical or oval-elliptical.