Family Liliaceae

Members of the genus Smilax are dioecious, herbaceous or woody vines that use stipular tendrils for climbing. Other members are erect herbs. The stems of Smilax are terete and, in the woody species are often angled (Radford 1968). Stems are branched, spiny, and prickly or bristly (Huxley 1992). The leaves are simple and can be either deciduous or evergreen but are always alternate, petiolate (Radford 1968). Flowers are white to pale-green, yellow, or brown. They are lateral and may be solitary or in axillary umbels. There are six separate, free tepals; male flowers have six free stamens borne at the base, and female flowers have up to six stamenoids with a superior ovary bearing one to three stigmas (Huxley 1992). Smilax produce berries that are black, blue, or red and contain between one and six seeds. The seeds are red, and each is enclosed in a membranous sac. They may be 3-5mm long and slightly angled or rounded if they occur alone (Radford 1968). For pictures of Smilax click here or here.

SPECIES LIST

Although the genus Smilax contains somewhere between 200 ( Huxley 1992) and 350 (Everett 1982) species, a complete list of these has yet to be compiled. The above list includes the species found in North and South Carolina (Radford 1968) and Georgia (Duncan 1988). There is slso a list of all species present in Florida.

IDENTIFICATION GUIDE

Stems herbaceous, peduncles usually more than 4cm long;
fruit black or bluish-black
Leaves cluster toward top of stem or subverticillate, or
equally distributed and the lowest peduncles from axils of bladeless and tendril-less sheaths; tendrils usually absent...........S. ecirrhata
Leaves uniformly distributed; peduncles from axils of developed
leaves or from sheaths bearing tendrils; tendrils present, often abundant.
Longest fruiting pedicels shorter or slightly longer than
fruit; anthers equaling or longer than filaments; leaves >usually deltoid-ovate to subhastate........................................S. tamnifolia
Longest fruiting pedicels nearly 2x or more as long as fruit;
anthers shorter than filaments; leaves ovate.............................S. herbacea
Stems woody; peduncles usually less than 3 cm long; fruit black,
bluish black, or red.
Stems and lower surfaces of leaves densely pubescent;
fruit red.....................................................................S. pumila
Stems and leaves glabrous or exxentially so; fruit red, black,
or bluish black. Leaf bases attenuate or cuneate.
Fruit red; leaves deciduous..................................................S. walteri Fruit black or bluish-black; leaves evergreen.
Leaves oblong or pandurate...............................................S. auriculata Leaves lanceolate.
Leaves thick, abruptly contracted to acute apices.....................S. laurifolia Leaves thin, gradually contracted to acute or acuminate
apices..................................................................S. smallii
Leaf bases cordate, truncate or rounded. Peduncles more than 1.5x as long as the petioles of sub-
tending leaves, usually more than 1.5 cm long Leaves glaucous beneath.................................................S. glauca Leaves green beneath.
Leaves thin, the margins finely ciliate-serrulate....................S. hispida Leaves thick, the margins thickened or prickly, but not ciliate-serrulate..................................................S. bona-nox
Peduncles 1.5x or less as long as the petioles of subtending
leaves usually less than 1.5 cm long. Leaves glaucous beneath................................................S. glauca Leaves green beneath. Inflorescences in all the leaf axils of the branch or
absent in the last 1 or 2.
Fruit 1-seeded; flowering July-Aug. .............................S. laurifolia Fruit 2- or more-seeded; flowering May-July...................S. auriculata
Inflorescences only in the first 1-5 leaf axils of the
branch, not in the last leaf axils.
Perianth brownish-yellow; fruit red..............................S. walteri Perianth green; fruit blue to black.
Leaf margins spiny or thickened...............................S. bona-nox Leaf margins entire, thin.........................................S. rotundifolia


This key was obtained from Radford, Ahles, and Bell's Manual of the Vascular Flora of the Carolinas. It does not describe all species in the genus. There does not seem to be a complete description of the hundreds of tropical and temperate species of Smilax.

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GENERAL INFORMATION

Smilax is a genus containing some 350 species of woody and herbaceous vines that are climbers or scramblers of the lily family Liliaceae. Ancient Greeks used the name to describe various plants, and common names include Wild Sasparilla, Carrion Flower, Greenbrier or Catbrier or Horsebrier. Most species are native to the tropics, but some are natives of temperate Asia and North America. The foliage of some species is used ornamentally as cut greens. It is interesting to note, however, that the smilax used by florists does not belong in this group. Sasparilla is obtained from the roots of some tropical species (Everett 1982). Medicinal uses of sasparilla include prevention of muscular spasms and cramps, increasing sex drive in females, and serving as a nutritional supplement in AIDS patients. The species are tolerant to a range of soil and light variability and propogate by seed or division (Huxley 1992).

Recently, Smilax has been classified as belonging to the family Smilaceae. Descriptions of the new classification and corresponding images have been documented.


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REFERENCES

Duncan, Wilbur H. & John T Kartesz. 1988. Vascular Flora of Georgia and Annotated Checklist.

Encyclopedia Brittanica, The New. Vol.13. 15th ed.

Everett, Thomas H. 1982. The New York Botanical Garden Illustrated Encyclopedia of Horticulture. Garland Publishing, Inc. NY. vol. 9. pp 3165-3166

Huxley, Anthony. 1992. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. Macmillan Press Limited. London. v. 4. pp 304-305

Radford, A.E., H.E. Ahles & C.R. Bell. 1968. Manual of the Vascular Flora of the Carolinas. University of North Carolina Press. Chapel Hill, NC. pp 284-285