bryony

American  

[brahy-uh-nee] / ˈbraɪ ə ni /

Or briony

noun

plural

bryonies

1. any Old World vine or climbing plant belonging to the genus Bryonia, of the gourd family, yielding acrid juice having emetic and purgative properties.

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bryony British  

/ ˈbraɪənɪ /

noun

1. any of several herbaceous climbing plants of the cucurbitaceous genus Bryonia , of Europe and N Africa See also black bryony white bryony

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Etymology

Origin of bryony

before 1000; Middle English brionie, Old English bryōnia < Latin < Greek: a wild vine

Example Sentences

The ditch was thick with cow parsley, hemlock and long trails of green-flowering bryony.

From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams

They were coming to a thicket of juniper and dog roses, tangled at ground level with nettles and trails of bryony on which the berries were now beginning to ripen and turn red.

From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams

The hedgerows were thick with twining bryony and feathery traveller's joy; here and there the hips were reddening, and a ripe blackberry or two tempted them to linger upon the way.

From A Fourth Form Friendship A School Story by Brazil, Angela

Black bryony is a twining plant, and can travel spirally up the hazel stems, just as a hop ascends its pole. 

From Rustic Sounds and Other Studies in Literature and Natural History by Darwin, Francis, Sir

Both have vine-like leaves; but the hops are wrinkled, those of the bryony hairy or rough to the touch.

From The Toilers of the Field by Jefferies, Richard