Smilax auriculata |
Smilax pulverulenta |
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earleaf greenbrier, wild-bamboo |
downy carrionflower |
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Habit | Herbs. | |
Stems | perennial, climbing, branching zigzag, terete, 5–9 m × 5–8 mm, woody, glabrous; prickles numerous, sparse or absent distally, flattened, rigid, stout, to 4 mm. |
annual, climbing, branching, to 2.5 m, herbaceous, glabrous; prickles absent. |
Leaves | evergreen; petiole 0.5–1.2 cm; blade green abaxially, drying to brownish green, narrowly ovate to ovate-elliptic, with 3 prominent veins, secondary veins obscure to prominent, 4.5–6(–8.5) × 2–3.5 cm, not glaucous, glabrous or minutely pubescent abaxially, base auriculate, pandurate, or rounded, cuneate at insertion of petiole, margins entire, apex acute to abruptly deflexed point. |
evenly distributed; petiole ± equaling blade; tendrils numerous, long, functional; blade lustrous, dark green abaxially, narrowly to broadly ovate, 8–16 × 3.5–9 cm, often with minute, whitish pubescence abaxially mostly on veins, with transparent trichomes, base cordate, margins entire, convex, apex long-acuminate; leaves on branches with oblong, smaller blade. |
Umbels | 3–8, terminal, axillary to leaves, 5–8(–25)-flowered, loose; peduncle 0.2–1.5 cm. |
numerous, axillary to leaves, 10–35-flowered, globose; peduncle equaling or shorter than subtending leaf. |
Flowers | perianth green; tepals: staminate 6–8 mm, pistillate 3–4 mm; ovule 1 per locule; pedicel 0.2–1 cm. |
perianth greenish; tepals 3.5–5 mm; anthers shorter than filaments, ovules (1–)2 per locule; pedicel 0.5–2.2 cm. |
Berries | purplish maroon, purple, or black, ovoid to flattened, 5–7 mm, glaucous. |
black, subglobose, 8–10 mm, not glaucous. |
Vines | ; rhizomes linear or dense masses of potatolike tubers. |
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2n | = 26. |
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Smilax auriculata |
Smilax pulverulenta |
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Phenology | Flowering Apr–Jul. | Flowering Apr–Jun. |
Habitat | Dunes and sandy flatwoods, full sun | Rich woods, thickets, usually in calcareous soils |
Elevation | 0–100 m (0–300 ft) | 0–900 m (0–3000 ft) |
Distribution |
AL; FL; GA; LA; MS; NC; SC; West Indies (Bahamas)
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AR; DC; DE; IL; IN; KY; MD; MN; MO; NC; NE; NJ; NY; PA; TN; VA; WV
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Discussion | The distribution of Smilax pulverulenta is disjunct. The eastern distribution is centered in the mid-Atlantic United States, while the western distribution is centered in the Ozark Plateau of Missouri. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Source | FNA vol. 26, p. 471. | FNA vol. 26, p. 476. |
Parent taxa | Smilacaceae > Smilax | Smilacaceae > Smilax |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | S. beyrichii, S. lata | S. herbacea var. pulverulenta |
Name authority | Walter: Fl. Carol., 245. (1788) | Michaux: Fl. Bor.-Amer. 2: 238. (1803) |
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