Smilax hugeri |
Smilax auriculata |
|
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Huger's carrionflower |
earleaf greenbrier, wild-bamboo |
|
Habit | Herbs; rhizomes knotty, slender. | |
Stems | annual, erect, 2–5 m, herbaceous, glabrous; prickles absent. |
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. |
Leaves | few, disposed distally or evenly distributed, subequal; petiole shorter than blade; tendrils absent or rudimentary; blade oblong, oblong-ovate, or sometimes oval, 2.5–12 × 1.5–7.5 cm, not glaucous, puberulent abaxially, base rounded to slightly cordate, margins entire, apex broadly rounded to obtuse or abruptly pointed. |
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. |
Umbels | 1–3, proximalmost axillary to bracts, 5–12-flowered. |
3–8, terminal, axillary to leaves, 5–8(–25)-flowered, loose; peduncle 0.2–1.5 cm. |
Flowers | perianth greenish; tepals 3–3.5 mm; anthers shorter than filaments; ovules (1–)2 per locule. |
perianth green; tepals: staminate 6–8 mm, pistillate 3–4 mm; ovule 1 per locule; pedicel 0.2–1 cm. |
Berries | globose, 8–10 mm diam., glaucous. |
purplish maroon, purple, or black, ovoid to flattened, 5–7 mm, glaucous. |
Vines | ; rhizomes linear or dense masses of potatolike tubers. |
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2n | = 26. |
|
Smilax hugeri |
Smilax auriculata |
|
Phenology | Flowering Apr–May. | Flowering Apr–Jul. |
Habitat | Moist, mixed woods and wooded slopes | Dunes and sandy flatwoods, full sun |
Elevation | 0–100 m (0–300 ft) | |
Distribution |
AL; FL; GA; NC; SC; TN
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AL; FL; GA; LA; MS; NC; SC; West Indies (Bahamas)
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Discussion | Smilax hugeri is distinguished from S. ecirrhata and S. biltmoreana mainly by leaf morphology. Specimens from Tennessee are not sharply distinct from S. ecirrhata. J. K. Mangaly (1968) cited this as possible evidence of divergence from that species. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
|
Source | FNA vol. 26, p. 474. | FNA vol. 26, p. 471. |
Parent taxa | Smilacaceae > Smilax | Smilacaceae > Smilax |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Nemexia hugeri, S. ecirrhata var. hugeri | S. beyrichii, S. lata |
Name authority | (Small) J. B. Norton ex Pennell: Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 43: 420. (1916) | Walter: Fl. Carol., 245. (1788) |
Web links |