Kutra

Kutra, or Kendyr, or Down jacket (lat. Apócynum) is a genus of plants of the Kutrovy family, which includes about 7 species. Species of the genus are widespread in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, with the exception of Western Europe.
Botanical description
Herbaceous perennial plants. Foliage and branching are mixed. The leaves are whole-edged, varying greatly in the shape and size of the blade, even within the same plant. Known leaves are linear-lanceolate, lanceolate, short-elliptical, oval, oval-elongated, ovoid, glabrous or with varying degrees of pubescence.

Flowers are hermaphrodite (bisexual). Corolla is five-lobed, conglomerate, pubescent lobes equal in length to the corolla tube or shorter than it; the color varies from white to pink. The calyx is five-part, pubescent, greyish-lilac, pinkish or pale pink in color. The ovary is superior, consists of two free carpels, enclosed in a cuboid pistil with a capitate, short-bilobate stigma. Five arrow-shaped anthers on short, thick, pubescent filaments in the upper part, close tightly around the pistil, adhering to its upper part. Flowers on short, pubescent, grayish-green peduncles are collected in more mlm less compact, or loose, semi-umbellate, or paniculate inflorescence at the top of the stem or at the ends of branches.

The fruits are in the form of double long leaflets, diverging at an angle, 6 to 23 cm long and 2 to 5.5 mm thick. Seeds are small, sitting on a soft shaft and equipped with a silky tuft of hairs, their color varies from yellow-ocher to purple.
Taxonomy
Taxonomic scheme (according to the APG II System):
SynonymsPoacynum Baill.Trachomitum woodsonKinds
According to information The plant list, the genus includes 7 species:
Apocynum androsaemifolium L.Apocynum cannabinum L. – Hemp kutra, or Hemp kutraApocynum × floribundum GreeneApocynum jonesii woodsonApocynum medium GreeneApocynum pictum SchrenkApocynum venetum L. – Bluish Kendyr, or Common KendyrUsage
In the USSR, in the 1930s, kendyr, growing wild in the floodplain of the Syr-Darya, Chu and Ili rivers in Kazakhstan, began to be cultivated to obtain scarce construction ropes and cords (as well as durable fabrics, „tarpaulins", drive belts, bags, fire hoses, etc. etc.). The area under crops was tens of thousands of hectares. But it turned out that the kendyr grew well only in tugai under the shade of trees and bushes, and the "kendyr epic" was over.

In the USSR and many other countries, the American herbaceous species Kutra cannabis (Apocynum cannabinum), which was used to obtain cardiac glycosides. Native North American people use this species as a source of fiber.

The species Apocynum venetum is used in China as an ingredient in herbal teas.

Species of this genus contain the glycoside cymarine, which has a cardiotonic effect, therefore, the use of kutra can cause arrhythmias in people. Cimarin is used in modern medicine as an antineoplastic drug.

Leaves of some species serve as food for lepidoptera larvae.