Smilax pumila |
Smilax auriculata |
|
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sarsaparilla vine, sarsparilla vine |
earleaf greenbrier, wild-bamboo |
|
Habit | Subshrubs or vines; rhizomes black, knotted, 5–6 × 2 cm, often with white to pinkish stolons. | |
Stems | perennial, prostrate to clambering, branching, slender, to 1 m, ± woody, densely woolly-pubescent, usually prickly (especially at base). |
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 | 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. |
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 | 1–7, 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. |
3–8, terminal, axillary to leaves, 5–8(–25)-flowered, loose; peduncle 0.2–1.5 cm. |
Flowers | perianth yellowish; tepals 3–4 mm; anthers much shorter than filaments; ovule 1 per locule; pedicel thin, 0.1–0.4 cm. |
perianth green; tepals: staminate 6–8 mm, pistillate 3–4 mm; ovule 1 per locule; pedicel 0.2–1 cm. |
Berries | red, ovoid, 5–8 mm, with acute beaks, not glaucous. |
purplish maroon, purple, or black, ovoid to flattened, 5–7 mm, glaucous. |
Vines | ; rhizomes linear or dense masses of potatolike tubers. |
|
Smilax pumila |
Smilax auriculata |
|
Phenology | Flowering Oct–Nov. | Flowering Apr–Jul. |
Habitat | Woods, along streams, sandy soil | Dunes and sandy flatwoods, full sun |
Elevation | 0–100 m (0–300 ft) | |
Distribution |
AL; AR; FL; GA; LA; MS; SC; TX
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AL; FL; GA; LA; MS; NC; SC; West Indies (Bahamas)
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Discussion | 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. 471. |
Parent taxa | Smilacaceae > Smilax | Smilacaceae > Smilax |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | S. humilis, S. pubera, S. puberula | S. beyrichii, S. lata |
Name authority | Walter: Fl. Carol., 244. (1788) | Walter: Fl. Carol., 245. (1788) |
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