Smilax pumila |
Smilax pulverulenta |
|
---|---|---|
sarsaparilla vine, sarsparilla vine |
downy carrionflower |
|
Habit | Subshrubs or vines; rhizomes black, knotted, 5–6 × 2 cm, often with white to pinkish stolons. | Herbs. |
Stems | perennial, prostrate to clambering, branching, slender, to 1 m, ± woody, densely woolly-pubescent, usually prickly (especially at base). |
annual, climbing, branching, to 2.5 m, herbaceous, glabrous; prickles absent. |
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. |
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 | 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. |
numerous, axillary to leaves, 10–35-flowered, globose; peduncle equaling or shorter than subtending leaf. |
Flowers | perianth yellowish; tepals 3–4 mm; anthers much shorter than filaments; ovule 1 per locule; pedicel thin, 0.1–0.4 cm. |
perianth greenish; tepals 3.5–5 mm; anthers shorter than filaments, ovules (1–)2 per locule; pedicel 0.5–2.2 cm. |
Berries | red, ovoid, 5–8 mm, with acute beaks, not glaucous. |
black, subglobose, 8–10 mm, not glaucous. |
2n | = 26. |
|
Smilax pumila |
Smilax pulverulenta |
|
Phenology | Flowering Oct–Nov. | Flowering Apr–Jun. |
Habitat | Woods, along streams, sandy soil | Rich woods, thickets, usually in calcareous soils |
Elevation | 0–900 m (0–3000 ft) | |
Distribution |
AL; AR; FL; GA; LA; MS; SC; TX
|
AR; DC; DE; IL; IN; KY; MD; MN; MO; NC; NE; NJ; NY; PA; TN; VA; WV
|
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.) |
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. | FNA vol. 26, p. 476. |
Parent taxa | Smilacaceae > Smilax | Smilacaceae > Smilax |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | S. humilis, S. pubera, S. puberula | S. herbacea var. pulverulenta |
Name authority | Walter: Fl. Carol., 244. (1788) | Michaux: Fl. Bor.-Amer. 2: 238. (1803) |
Web links |