About Cynanchica pyrenaica subsp. cynanchica (L.) P.Caputo & Del Guacchio
Description: Squinancywort (Cynanchica pyrenaica subsp. cynanchica) is a delicate, prostrate to ascending herbaceous perennial with weak stems that sprawl across the ground or scramble amongst other vegetation. This plant is rhizomatous and typically forms a loose patch up to 40 cm across, exceptionally up to 1 m across. It grows interspersed with other plants and is often rather concealed within grassland. The green, much-branched stems are square in cross-section with winged corners, roughly hairy on the lower parts and hairless towards the tips. Lower leaves are elliptical, while upper leaves are narrow and linear; all are entire (unlobed and untoothed) and taper towards a pointed tip. Foliage appears to grow in whorls of 4, but technically each node holds 2 leaves around 20 mm long, plus 2–4 leaf-like stipules, with stipules often much shorter than the leaves. All foliage is hairless. Inflorescences grow from leaf axils and stem tips, forming few-flowered cymes. Individual flowers are small, 3–4 mm across, typically white with pinkish petal undersides, and often marked with darker pink veins on the corolla lobes. Each flower is a tube around 5 mm long with 4–5 lobes at the opening, and has a vanilla scent. The calyx is shorter than the corolla tube and has 4 shallow lobes. Each bisexual flower contains 4 stamens, one style, and an inferior ovary. The fruits are warty nutlets.
Distribution and status: Squinancywort is native to Europe, western Asia and parts of North Africa, growing wherever chalk, limestone or coastal sand occurs. It is not rare or threatened globally. It is generally a lowland plant, found between sea level and 305 m in Ireland, but can grow above 2,300 m in the Pyrenees. In Britain, it is considered an indicator of unimproved grassland and is regarded as an axiophyte in any county where it occurs. It is thought to be threatened by agricultural improvement and is in decline, though it remains as widespread as it has ever been.
Habitat and ecology: Squinancywort grows in short, species-rich grassland established over chalk or limestone, specifically in CG2 Festuca ovina - Avenula pratensis grassland in Britain. It is also found on dunes in south Wales. Under the Universal adaptive strategy theory, it is a strongly stress-tolerant plant, and behaves more as a ruderal when growing on sand; some authorities classify these sand-growing plants as the separate taxon ssp. occidentalis. Its environmental preferences are shown by its high Ellenberg-type indicator values for light (7) and pH (8), meaning it favors full sunlight and alkaline conditions, and low values for moisture (3), nutrients (2) and salt (0). A study of plants associated with yellow meadow ant hills in Oxfordshire found that while it can occasionally grow on anthills, there was no statistically significant relationship between its occurrence and ant hills. The seeds do not have an elaiosome, which suggests they are not dispersed by ants. Pests of squinancywort include: Cataclysme riguata and Watsonarctia deserta, micromoths whose larvae feed on the leaves; Timarcha tenebricosa, a beetle which feeds exclusively on bedstraws including squinancywort; several species of fungi, including Puccinia asperulae-cynanchicae, a rust specific to this genus; Aculus minutus, a mite which galls the inflorescence, turning flowers green and leaf-like; Schizomyia galiorum, a midge which forms galls on flowers, making them swell into green or violet balls; and dodder, a plant which parasitizes the stems. Only the last three of these pests have been recorded in Britain.
Uses: There is no clear evidence that squinancywort was ever used to cure quinsy. A few modern writers seem to have assumed this, presumably based on its name, although Mrs Grieve in the 1920s reported that it was "no longer applied in medicine" and Geoffrey Grigson in 1955 simply stated that it was an old remedy. Folklore researchers offer no support for this quinsy cure claim, and botanical names do not necessarily carry a clear functional meaning. The name was probably used because of a superficial resemblance between squinancywort flowers and the flowers of sword-leaved dogbane; the latter was reportedly used in Ancient Rome to kill dogs and leopards, and dissolve their lips. Early herbalists such as Culpeper do not attribute quinsy-curing properties to this plant. He recommended cudweed, hyssop, orpine, ragwort and blackberry as cures for quinsy, but not squinancywort. The name cynanchica was first applied to this plant by Bauhin in 1623, and he considered it efficacious only against angina, when taken and applied externally. Mrs Grieve reported that in Sweden the roots of this plant have been used as a red dyeing agent.
