# Dogbane

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{{short description|Name for certain plants that are reputed to kill or repel dogs}}
[[File:Hylaeus pictus 2.jpg|thumb|The [solitary bee](/source/solitary_bee), ''[Hylaeus pictus](/source/Hylaeus_pictus)'', foraging on ''Apocynum venetum''; many dogbane species are valued as nectar plants]]
[[File:Milkweed - or oleander - aphid, Aphis nerii.jpg|thumb|Milkweed - or oleander - aphid, ''[Aphis nerii](/source/Aphis_nerii)'', feeds on members of the dogbane family. It accumulates the toxic compounds and, if disturbed, releases them in defence.]]

'''Dogbane''', '''dog-[bane](/source/bane_(plant))''', '''dog's bane''', '''dogsbane''',{{citation needed|date=August 2019}} and other variations, some of them regional and some transient, are names for certain plants that are reputed to kill or repel dogs; "[bane](/source/Bane_(plant))" originally meant "slayer", and was later applied to plants to indicate that they were poisonous to particular creatures.{{cn|date=October 2023}}

==History of the term==
The earliest reference to such names in common English usage was in the 16th century,<ref name= "isbn0-19-861271-0">{{cite book |author=Brown, Lesley |title=The New shorter Oxford English dictionary on historical principles |publisher=Clarendon |location=Oxford [Eng.] |year=1993 |isbn=978-0-19-861271-1 |url=https://archive.org/details/newshorteroxford00lesl }}</ref> in which they were applied to various plants in the [Apocynaceae](/source/Apocynaceae), in particular ''[Apocynum](/source/Apocynum)''. Some plants in the [Asclepiadoideae](/source/Asclepiadoideae), now a subfamily of the Apocynaceae, but until recently regarded as the separate family [Asclepiadaceae](/source/Asclepiadaceae), were also called dogbane even before the two families were united. It is not clear how much earlier the name had been in use in the [English language](/source/English_language), which originated about 1000 years earlier in [mediaeval](/source/Middle_Ages) times. However, centuries before the appearance of the English language, [Pedanius Dioscorides](/source/Pedanius_Dioscorides), in his ''[De Materia Medica](/source/De_Materia_Medica)'', had already described members of the Apocynaceae, such as ''Apocynum'' and ''[Cynanchum](/source/Cynanchum)'' by names equivalent to "dogbane"; ''Apocynum'' literally means "dog killer" or "dog remover", and "Cynanchum" means "dog strangler". In modern times some species of ''[Nerium](/source/Nerium)'',<ref>{{cite book |title=Hospital Physician |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dn9QAQAAIAAJ |year=1979 |publisher=F & F Publications}}</ref> ''[Periploca](/source/Periploca_(plant))'' and ''[Trachelospermum](/source/Trachelospermum)'', also in the Apocynaceae, are called dogbane or variants such as "climbing dogbane".{{cn|date=August 2019}}

==Modern significance of the term "dogbane family"==
Some modern sources note "dogbane" as strictly being the species known as 'Indian hemp', ''[Apocynum](/source/Apocynum)'',<ref>{{cite book|title=Range Plant Handbook|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x4EWAAAAYAAJ&pg=PT246|year=1937|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|pages=246–}}</ref> though it is doubtful that such a narrow definition could be justified, even if it were enforceable. Still others consider ''[Asclepias](/source/Asclepias)'' (milkweeds) to be the "true" dogbanes; however, when the majority of authors, horticulturists or gardeners refer to the "dogbanes", they are generally always referencing the entire Apocynaceae family, as a whole.<ref name="KeatorSteunenberg2009">{{cite book|author1=Glenn Keator|author2=Margaret J. Steunenberg|title=California Plant Families: West of the Sierran Crest and Deserts|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qkcjj9OoixQC&pg=PA28|year=2009|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-23709-4|pages=28–}}</ref>

=="Dogbane" as a term outside the family Apocynaceae==
[Common names](/source/Common_names), either informal or [vernacular](/source/vernacular), are seldom definitive, let alone stable. Some poisonous or offensive plants in practically unrelated families had similar common names in the vernacular and writings of various times; for example an edition ''De Materia Medica'', apparently of the early sixteenth century, mentions that species of ''[Aconitum](/source/Aconitum)'' (family [Ranunculaceae](/source/Ranunculaceae)) were known as either "dog killer" (or murderer) or "wolf killer" ("''...Sunt qui Cynoctonon: qui Lycoctonon... uocent''").<ref name="DioscoridesVergilius1518">{{cite book |author1=Pedanius Dioscorides |author2=Marcellus Vergilius |title=De materia medica: libri sex |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N8RCAAAAcAAJ&pg=PT513 |year=1518 |publisher=Iunta |pages=513–}}</ref> Again, in modern times [Isocoma menziesii](/source/Isocoma_menziesii) in the family [Asteraceae](/source/Asteraceae) is known in some regions as dogbane.{{cn|date=August 2019}}

==Recent aberrant application of the term==
The term "dogbane" (as well as "cat-scat")—either out of genuine confusion or as a deliberate sales ploy for gardeners desiring a natural [animal repellent](/source/animal_repellent)—has been used without obvious justification to several other groups of plants, such as some species of ''[Plectranthus](/source/Plectranthus)'' (ironically, a genus in the [catnip](/source/catnip) subfamily [Nepetoideae](/source/Lamiaceae) of the [mint](/source/Mentha) family [Lamiaceae](/source/Lamiaceae)). While none have been reported to be especially harmful, or even useful against nuisance animals, in the garden, many—such as [''Plectranthus'' (''Coleus'') ''caninus''](/source/Coleus_caninus)—have very fragrant, oily leaves which give an intensely pungent, [skunk](/source/skunk)- or ''[Cannabis](/source/Cannabis)''-like aroma when brushed, disturbed or touched. At times, simply the wind blowing can trigger the release of the [essential oils](/source/Essential_oil) into the surrounding area. The smell has been reported, by some sources, to keep nuisance animals at bay; however, if a plant is not poisonous or otherwise offensive to them, many animals quickly become accustomed to various botanical aromas and remain unbothered.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://succulent-plant.com/families/lamiaceae.html|title=Lamiaceae}}</ref> Oftentimes, these plants are more effective at repelling humans from a given area, as the essential oils are strong, sticky, and exude a distinct aroma of [marijuana](/source/Cannabis_(drug)) or skunk-spray, which may linger for hours on the skin, gloves, clothing, or any other surface it contacts. 

==References==
<references />

Category:Apocynaceae
Category:Plant common names

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Dogbane](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogbane) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogbane?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.