Smilax pulverulenta |
Smilax pumila |
|
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downy carrionflower |
sarsaparilla vine, sarsparilla vine |
|
Habit | Herbs. | Subshrubs or vines; rhizomes black, knotted, 5–6 × 2 cm, often with white to pinkish stolons. |
Stems | annual, climbing, branching, to 2.5 m, herbaceous, glabrous; prickles absent. |
perennial, prostrate to clambering, branching, slender, to 1 m, ± woody, densely woolly-pubescent, usually prickly (especially at base). |
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. |
mostly evergreen, ± evenly disposed; petiole 0.05–0.25 cm, often longer on sterile shoots; blade gray-green, drying to ashy gray-green, obovate to ovate-lanceolate, with 3 prominent veins, 6–10.5 × 5–8 cm, glabrous adaxially, densely puberulent abaxially, base cordate to deeply notched, margins entire, apex bluntly pointed. |
Umbels | numerous, axillary to leaves, 10–35-flowered, globose; peduncle equaling or shorter than subtending leaf. |
1–7, axillary to leaves, 5–16-flowered, loose, spherical; peduncle 0.2–0.8 cm, shorter than to 1.5 as long as petiole of 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. |
perianth yellowish; tepals 3–4 mm; anthers much shorter than filaments; ovule 1 per locule; pedicel thin, 0.1–0.4 cm. |
Berries | black, subglobose, 8–10 mm, not glaucous. |
red, ovoid, 5–8 mm, with acute beaks, not glaucous. |
2n | = 26. |
|
Smilax pulverulenta |
Smilax pumila |
|
Phenology | Flowering Apr–Jun. | Flowering Oct–Nov. |
Habitat | Rich woods, thickets, usually in calcareous soils | Woods, along streams, sandy soil |
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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AL; AR; FL; GA; LA; MS; SC; TX
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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.) |
The red, pointed fruits and densely pubescent herbage of Smilax pumila are distinctive. In Louisiana, the dried leaves are used to prepare a tea for upset stomach. The name Smilax humilis Miller, which predates S. pumila by 20 years and recently has been determined to apply also to this species, has been proposed for rejection (J. L. Reveal 2000). If that proposal is not adopted, the correct name will be S. humilis. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 26, p. 476. | FNA vol. 26, p. 476. |
Parent taxa | Smilacaceae > Smilax | Smilacaceae > Smilax |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | S. herbacea var. pulverulenta | S. humilis, S. pubera, S. puberula |
Name authority | Michaux: Fl. Bor.-Amer. 2: 238. (1803) | Walter: Fl. Carol., 244. (1788) |
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