Spreading Dogbane

You can probably think of examples where a famous and showy family member outshines their equally talented kin. If you’ve heard of Milkweed but not today’s PEI plant, you have a botanical example of this. Meet Spreading Dogbane (Apocynum androsaemifolium).

Milkweed is in the Dogbane Family (Apocynaceae) but because of its importance to the endangered Monarch Butterfly, far more people know of it than the family’s namesake. That’s a shame because Spreading Dogbane is native, beautiful, aromatic, and useful to both wildlife and people.

Each Dogbane plant supports hundreds of tiny sweet-smelling flowers lined with red stripes that remind me of Christmas candy. It grows in dense patches that can spread hundreds of metres or more along highways and trails, and the collective scent of those thousands of flowers is heavenly. That humans enjoy the smell is just a bonus: it’s designed to attract pollinators and it does an excellent job.

Virtually every moth and butterfly on PEI – including adult Monarchs – feed on Dogbane, as does an assortment of bees, flies, and wasps.  It’s rare to find a patch of Dogbane that’s not buzzing with life, and if you were looking for an easy-to-grow native plant for a pollinator garden, this would top my list.

Despite the beautiful appearance and lovely aroma, Spreading Dogbane is toxic as the ‘bane’ part of the name suggests (though it has no particular quarrel with dogs). Like Milkweed, the milky sap of Dogbane contains cardiac glycosides that are toxic to mammals and most birds. From the plant’s point of view, the toxins are designed to protect it from predators. For people, pets, and livestock, eating Spreading Dogbane can result in nausea, weakness, abdominal pain, and slow or irregular heartbeat, and can be fatal.

While Spreading Dogbane is off the menu, it does have other human uses beyond the ornamental. The outer layers of the stems contain fibres that can be used to make thread, string, and rope. The resulting products are very strong and were traditionally used for bowstrings and fishing nets. Although the related Hemp Dogbane (Apocynum cannabinum) was preferred for this use, Spreading Dogbane was a viable substitute in areas like PEI where Hemp Dogbane doesn’t grow.

Spreading Dogbane can be found across the Island, though I see it most commonly in West Prince and the eastern Queens / western Kings County areas.  It’s an attractive and sweet-smelling part of PEI untamed!