Bryonia cretica L.
White bryony (Bryonia cretica) is a long-lived, perennial climbing vine that is native to Eurasia and the Mediterranean. It was introduced to New Zealand as a garden ornamental and was first recorded in the wild (naturalised) in 1991. The plant climbs using branched tendrils and has rough, deeply lobed leaves. It flowers from November to January, producing small, greenish-white flowers, which develop into green berries that ripen to bright red. It reproduces by seed and vegetatively from a large tuberous root that resprouts after damage. Seeds are dispersed by birds and other animals that eat the berries. The tuberous root is spread by soil movement and other human activities. All parts of the plant, especially the berries and root, are poisonous if eaten.
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Taxonomy note
SWAT uses the global Catalog of Life (COL) taxonomy. In some cases, this taxonomy does not align with the taxonomies used in New Zealand, so species names or synonym relationships shown in SWAT may differ from those used in some New Zealand taxonomy sources.
For white bryony and Cretan bryonia, under COL taxonomy:
- Bryonia cretica, Bryonia dioica, and Bryonia dioica subsp. dioica are all accepted taxa.
- Bryonia cretica subsp. dioica is treated as a synonym of Bryonia dioica.
- Bryonia dioica is not treated as a synonym of Bryonia cretica subsp. dioica.