RAILROAD VINE

CAUTION: Although it has a long history of medicinal use, I would not recommend ingestion due to certain ccathartic ompounds, only topical use. Leaves contain the potentially dangerous alkaloid ergotamine. 

MEDICINAL USES:
- Alterative [leaves] [13A]
- Analgesic [leaves] [3]
- Anodyne [leaves] [13A]
- Anodyne for rheumatism [13A]
- Anti-tumor [stem extract] [13A]
- Arthritic pain [2,7]
- Astringent [leaves] [13A]
- Bed sores [13A]
- Bladder diseases [13F]
- Boils [leaf poultice] [13A]
- Carbuncles  [leaf poultice] [13A]
- Chicken pox [13D]
- Colds [12]
- Colic [3,5A]
- Cramps [13F]
- Diuretic [7,13A]
- Dropsy [leaves[ [13A]
- Emolient [leaves ] [13A]
- Fatigue [7]
- Fish stings [13A]
- Flu [12]
- Gastrointestinal disorders [5]
- Gonorrhea [seeds[ [12]
- Inflammation [5]
- Internal upset [2]
- Jellyfish stings [6]
- Laxative [roots] [12.13A,13C]
- Oedema [5A]
- Parasitic infections [seeds] [12]
- Piles [5A]
- Piles [leaf poultice] [13A]
- Purgative [13A]
- Rheumatism [3,5A,7,13A]
- Skin ailments [leaf poultice] [13A]
- Sores [for bathing] [3]
- Sprained joints [leaf poultice] [13E]
- Stings from Sting Rays [5B]
- Strain [7]
- Stomach and intestinal complaints [roots] [12]
- Stomachache [13F]
- Swellings [leaf poultice] [13A]
- Syphilis [seeds] [12]
- Tonic [leaves] [13A]
- Ulcers [13A]
- Ulcers [leaf poultice] [13A]
- Whitlow [5A]
- Wounds [for bathing] [3]
CAUTION - DO NOT INGEST: "Carthartic compounds makes its use DANGEROUS! [8,8C,8G] Also, read the wildlife section. 

"Railroad vine is also used in some parts of the world to treat fatigue, strain, arthritis and rheumatism. Some cultures also use it as a diuretic (Devall 1992)." [7]
EDIBLE LEAVES - SEE CAUTION - DO NOT INGEST: The leaves are "cooked and eaten as a vegetable." [13A] Edible Wild Plants of Tanzania writes, "They are chopped and cooked alone, or combined with other vegetables such as Cleome gynandra, Galinsoga parviflora or Bidens pilosa, and eaten with a staple food such as rice." [13B] In Hawaii, "the leaves [and roots] are usually seen as a famine food because, in larger quantities, they have a laxative effect." [13C]
POTENTIALLY TOXIC FAMINE FOOD: "Roots and leaves were used by Hawaiians of old as famine foods [in ancient Hawaii], but carthartic compounds makes its use DANGEROUS!
Florida Ethnobotany writes, “ Used against arthritic pain and internal upset, also a purgative and diuretic, and to lower blood pressure [Roig, 1945], Vasquez and Jacome, 1997]. Elsewhere it has been used against “weakness in women,” for bathing sores and wounds, as a febrifuge and emollient, and to treat animal stings and bites [Duke, 1972, and Morton, 1981]. Recent studies indicate that it contains compounds as effective as Benadryl [Pongprayoon, 1991, Pongprayoon et al., 1991, 1992].” [2] "The juice from the succulent leaves has been used as a first aid to treat jellyfish stings." [6]
AFRICA: "The leaves are consumed as tea to treat colds and flu. The seeds are used to treat gonorrhoea, syphilis, and parasitic infections. An infusion of the roots is used as a laxative and also to treat stomach and intestinal complains." [12] "The leaves are aid to be alterative, anodyne, astringent, diuretic, emollient, laxative and tonic." [13A] The leaves "are used in the treatment of dropsy and urethral discharge." [13A] "The leaf is used to extirpate fungoid growth of ulcers." [13A] "A leaf-preparation is anodyne in the treatment of rheumatism." [13A] "Leaf-preparations are commonly applied externally to a range of skin ailments, including boils, carbuncles, swellings, ulcers and piles." [13A] "The leaf-sap is applied to fish-stings." [13A] "A hot poultice is applied to ulcerous and other sores." [13A] "The starchy root is diuretic and purgative. It is also said to contain a saponin." [13A] The leaves "are said to have a beneficial effect on bed-sores." [13A] "Strong anti-tumour action has been shown by extracts of the stems." [13A]
AUSTRALIA: An article "Top 10 Aborigonal Bush Medicines" states that "In Australia, it is a commonly used aboriginal medicine used as poultice for sting ray and stone fish stings." [5B]
BRAZIL: "In Brazil, this plant, namely the subspecies brasiliensis, is known as Salsa-da-Paria in folk medicine, and is used to treat inflammation and gastrointestinal disorders." [5]
GUAM: "The leaves can be boiled into a medicinal tea used in the treatment of chicken pox." [13D]
HAWAII: "Even with its dangers, a few of the young leaf buds (muʻo) were eaten by women just prior to giving birth to hasten delivery. [8C,8G,13C] DO NOT INGEST - ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU ARE PREGNANT - SEE WARNING ABOVE. "The mashed leaves and stems are used as a poultice on sprained joints." [13E]
PHILIPPINES: It "is used to treat rheumatism, colic, oedema, whitlow, and piles." [5A]
SOUTHEAST ASIA: "The boiled root is used to bring relief in bladder-diseases." [13F] "The seed, when chewed, is said to be a good remedy for stomach-ache and cramp." [13F]
CHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS: "Material from Florida has been reported to contain mucilage, a complex resin, volatile oils, fats, a bitter pigment, etc." [13A]
STUDIES: It is "currently under evaluation" for its "analgesic effects of leaves to treat colic and rheumatism." [3]
CORDAGE: In early Hawaiian use "the vines were also made into a type of bushy rope attached to each of the sticks on the bag net used in fishing. [8A] Cordage was sometimes made from the pliable stems. [8H] In tropical west Africa, "The long stoloniferous stems are relatively strong. They are sometimes made into ropes." [13A] 

AS A DYE: “In Belize, the vines are used to make a dye [Balick et al. 2000].” [2]
CAULKING: In Guam, "the scorched leaves are used for caulking the seams of canoes." [13D]
BEACH STABILIZER: It is often planted as a primo stabilizer of dunes. [5] It is "one of the most important beach pioneer species." [9] It "is a primary sand stabilizer, being one of the first plants to colonize the dune. It grows on almost all parts of the dune but is usually found on the seaward slopes, sending long runners down towards the toe of the dune." [5] It is a pioneer plant. [6]
MINE RECLAMATION: "The plant is used to revegetate mine spoil." [13G]
LEI IN HAWAII: "The leafy vines were used as lei. [8E]
RITUAL USE: "The Carib Indians used railroad vine in ritual baths to alleviate evil spells." [6] 
WILDLIFE AND CHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS: "Primary pollinating species include bees, butterflies, moths, flies, beetles, wasps, and ants (Devall, 1992)." [7] "Leaves and branches of railroad vine are protected from herbivores due to secondary metabolites. Branches have a milk-colored latex in the sap, while leaves produce a compound called indole alkaloid ergotamine (Jirawongse et al. 1977) that protects the plant from most insects and large grazing mammals such as horses and donkeys. Flowers, however, have no chemical defenses and are routinely eaten by caterpillars, beetles, and grasshoppers." [7} 

NATIVE TO: "It occurs along the beaches, coastal strands and tropical islands of tropical North and South America, east central Africa, west central Africa, India, Asia, and Australia. In North America." [7] To the Bahamas. [7] Along the coastline from "Georgia and Florida west to Texas." [4] In Florida, it is found in most coastal counties, lesser so in the Big Bend region. The floating seeds are dispersed throughout many warm water oceans of the world. [5] It is found on the tropical shores of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. [5]
HABITAT: "Beach dunes and coastal thickets." [9] The upper parts of beaches. [5] It grows "above the high tide line." [6]
DESCRIPTION: A perennial flowering vine.
- HEIGHT: 3-9" tall. [9]
- LENGTH: Stems run to 100' or more. [9]
- STEMS: Long, flexible, half an inch in diameter, branches often, rooting at the nodes. "Runners are succulent and have a milky colored sap." [7]
- LEAVES: Alternate, somewhat elliptical, 4" long, leathery. On 5.5-6" leaf petioles. They are "notched at the apex, creating two equal lobes," hence one of the common names, Goat's Foot. [6]
- FLOWERS: Very showy pink, reddish-purple to violet-purple, rarely all white, tubular, 2-3" diameter [9] "Rose-purple stripes radiate out from the throat." [9] Flowering but one day each, all year, but "peaking from May through November." [6] "Gulf of Mexico plants peak from July through September." [7] Darker in the inner center. "Flowers of railroad vine are short-lived: blooming at sunrise, closing by mid-afternoon, and dropping off the plant the following day." [7]
- SEEDS: "Four seeds per fruit are produced. Seeds are brown in color and measure approximately 6-10 mm in length (Devall 1992)." [7]
- ROOT: Steve Cristman, in Floridata, tells us that it has a "large, thick root that can be 10 ft (3.1 m) long and 2 in (5.1 cm) in diameter." [6] Woody. [5]
ETYMOLOGY: The “name Ipomoea is derived from the Greek ips, worm, and homoios, similar to, meaning worm-like, in reference to the twining habit. The hyphenated specific epithet pes-caprae is from the Latin pes, foot, and caprae, goat, or literally "foot of a goat," in reference to the shape of the leaves similar to that of a goat's foot (hoof). The subspecies brasiliensis is in reference to the country of Brazil (Brasil), part of its pantropic range.” [8]
SIMILAR SPECIES IN FLORIDA: Don't confuse this species with our similar-looking Bay Bean, Canavalia rosea. One of its common names, Beach Morning Glory, most often applies to the white-flowered I. imperti, another native vine found along our beaches.
CULTURE:
- LIGHT: Full sun. Intolerant of shade. [8]
- SOIL: Well drained. Prefers sandy soil. "It grows in nutrient poor soils." [9] Does not like humus rich soils. [9]
- HARDINESS: "USDA Zones 8 - 11. Railroad vine may be marginal in Zone 8A." [6]
- DROUGHT TOLERANCE: "High; does not require any supplemental water once established." [9]
- SALT TOLERANCE: "Moderate; tolerates brackish water or occasional inundation by salt water." [9]
- PROPAGATION: It "is easily started from cuttings." [6] "Seeds do not require a dormant period before sprouting. However, the seed coat is impermeable to water and must first be abraded by sand before the seeds will germinate." [7] "Around the Gulf of Mexico, germination occurs in all seasons except winter (Devall 1992)." [7]
- PRUNING: Being a very fast and rampant grower, you may very well need to clip it back often in your coastal landscape garden. " in diameter [9]