Smilax pulverulenta |
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downy carrionflower |
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Habit | Herbs. |
Stems | annual, climbing, branching, to 2.5 m, herbaceous, glabrous; prickles absent. |
Leaves | 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 | numerous, axillary to leaves, 10–35-flowered, globose; peduncle equaling or shorter than subtending leaf. |
Flowers | perianth greenish; tepals 3.5–5 mm; anthers shorter than filaments, ovules (1–)2 per locule; pedicel 0.5–2.2 cm. |
Berries | black, subglobose, 8–10 mm, not glaucous. |
2n | = 26. |
Smilax pulverulenta |
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Phenology | Flowering Apr–Jun. |
Habitat | Rich woods, thickets, usually in calcareous soils |
Elevation | 0–900 m (0–3000 ft) |
Distribution |
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.) |
Source | FNA vol. 26, p. 476. |
Parent taxa | Smilacaceae > Smilax |
Sibling taxa | |
Synonyms | S. herbacea var. pulverulenta |
Name authority | Michaux: Fl. Bor.-Amer. 2: 238. (1803) |
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