Smilax bona-nox

• Overview
• Interesting Facts
• Common Names
• Description
• Biology
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• More Info
• Further Reading
• Notes

Overview

Interesting Facts

Common Names

Description

Family Smilacaceae

Shrubs , herbs, or vines , perennial , rhizomatous . Stems erect or climbing , usually prickly, sometimes unarmed . Leaves opposite or alternate, prominently 3-veined, reticulate between veins, usually bearing tendrils , usually leathery. Inflorescences umbellate [or racemose or spicate ]. Flowers unisexual , staminate and pistillate on different plants ; tepals 6, distinct , rarely united into perianth tube ; stamens 2-3-whorled, anthers 1-locular; pistillate flowers bearing staminodes, pistil 3-carpellate; ovary 2-locular, 1-2 ovules per locule. Fruits baccate . Seeds 1-3.

Genera 4(-12), species ca. 375 (1 genus, 20 species in the flora ) : worldwide, mainly tropical to subtropical , a few temperate .

The leaves of Smilacaceae are atypical of monocotyledons in being reticulate between major veins. The family is closely related to and sometimes included in Liliaceae. It differs mainly in leaf characteristics and in being dioecious.[1]

Genus Smilax

Shrubs , vines , or herbs; rhizomes tuberous or stoloniferous , woody; roots filiform . Stems erect , sprawling or, more often, climbing , simple or branching, unarmed or armed with prickles; woody or herbaceous. Leaves deciduous or evergreen , alternate; stipules present; tendrils often present (few or rudimentary in S. hugeri and S. ecirrhata, absent in S. biltmoreana), paired , originating from petioles ; blade linear , oblong , ovate , or, sometimes, reduced to scales in herbaceous species, base sometimes lobed . Inflorescences umbellate , axillary to leaves or bracts, loose to dense, pedunculate . Flowers unisexual ; tepals 6, greenish, yellow, or bronze, ovate to elliptic ; staminate flowers sometimes with pistillode , stamens 6, anthers basifixed , dehiscence introrse ; pistillate flowers with 6 staminodes, style short or absent, stigmas 3, recurved, ligulate . Berries black, blue, purple, red, or orange. x = 13-16.

Species ca. 350: worldwide in the tropics and subtropics, with extensions into temperate areas.

The North American herbaceous species of Smilax (numbers 2, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, and 15 in this treatment) traditionally have been placed in sect. Nemexia (Rafinesque) A. de Candolle. J. K . Mangaly (1968) concluded that the correct name for this group at that rank is sect. Coprosmanthus (Torrey) Bentham. The remaining North American species, all more or less woody, belong to sect. Smilax. The relatively small number of species (20) present in the flora does not warrant the elaboration of an updated subgeneric classification, which should take into account all species of the genus on a worldwide basis.

The leaves of Smilax are very unusual. A. Arber (1918, 1920) believed that the blade of Smilax is not equivalent to the lamina of a dicotyledon but is merely a pseudolamina representing an expansion of the upper region of the petiole. In this view , tendrils are also proliferations of the petiole and are not homologous to tendrils of dicotyledons. However, D. R. Kaplan (1973) remarked that unifacial monocotyledonous leaves never exhibit a lamina rudiment at the apex, and therefore there is no convincing argument that their apices are simply petiolar . He suggested that the terete leaf axis of monocotyledons is not merely an expanded petiole but is positionally equivalent to the lamina region of a dicotyledonous leaf. Smilax leaves lack an abscission layer, but the distal portion of the petiole undergoes a soft disintegration and the blade falls, leaving a rough end on the stub (W. C. Coker 1944).

Smilax has numerous uses. Sarsaparilla, a beverage and medicinal used against rheumatism, is obtained from the rhizomes of various species, mainly from Mexico and Central America. A jelly can be made from the rhizomes. The fleshy rhizomes of several vining species, most notably S. smallii, which have a texture of firm, crisp apples, were used by Native Americans and early settlers in the same manner as were potatoes, or else in making bread or mush. The young, succulent stems of several species are cooked and used as asparagus or the tender stems may be used in salads . Seeds were sometimes used as beads (Indian coral ) and a brown dye can be made from the roots of various species. Woody rhizomes were reportedly used by Native Americans and settlers in making pipes. Some species have been used in Native American (D. E. Moerman 1986) and folk medicine. All species of Smilax are excellent wildlife food and are also browsed, or the rhizomes dug and eaten, by domestic stock.[2]

Physical Description

Habitat

Well-drained to wet areas in woods , fields , thickets, hedgerows, floodplain forests , etc. , full to partial sun; 0--1000 m [3].

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 1,978 meters (0 to 6,490 feet).[4]

Biology

Reproduction

Duration: Perennial

Growth

Culture: Space 3-6" apart.

Soil: Minimum pH: 4.5 • Maximum pH: 5.0

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Full Sun .

Temperature: Cold Hardiness: 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b, 10a, 10b, 11. (map)

Taxonomy

Synonyms

S. bona-nox var. hastata (Willdenow) A. De Candolle • S. bona-nox var. hederifolia (Beyrich Ex Kunth) Fernald • S. bona-nox var. littoralis Coker • S. hastata Willdenow • S. hederifolia Beyrich Ex Kunth • S. renifolia Small • S. variegata Walter • Smilax bona-nox var. exauriculata Fernald • Smilax bona-nox var. hastata (Willd.) A. Dc. • Smilax bona-nox var. hederifolia (Bey.) Fern.

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Last scrutiny: 09-Jul-2004

Similar Species

Members of the genus Smilax

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 31 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:

S. aristolochiifolia (Sarsaparilla) · S. aspera (Rough Bindweed) · S. auriculata (Catbrier) · S. australis (Barbwire Vine) · S. biltmoreana (Biltmore's Carrionflower) · S. bona-nox (Cowvine Smilax Bona-Nox) · S. californica (California Greenbrier) · S. china (China Root) · S. coriacea (Everglades Greenbrier) · S. ecirrata (Carrionflower) · S. ecirrhata (Carrion Flower) · S. glauca (Cat Greenbrier) · S. glauca var. glauca (Sawbrier) · S. herbacea (Carrion Flower Vine) · S. herbacea lasioneuron (Blue Ridge Carrion-Flower) · S. hugeri (Huger's Carrionflower) · S. illinoensis (Illinois Greenbrier) · S. jamesii (English Peak Greenbrier) · S. lasioneura (Blue Ridge Carrion-Flower) · S. lasioneuron (Blue Ridge Carrion-Flower) · S. laurifolia (Bamboo Vine) · S. melastomifolia (Aka'awa) · S. pseudochina (Bamboo Vine) · S. pulverulenta (Downy Carrionflower) · S. pumila (Dwarf Smilax) · S. regelii (Jamaican Sarsaparilla) · S. renifolia (Kidneyleaf Greenbrier) · S. rotundifolia (Bull Briar) · S. smallii (Jackson Vine) · S. tamnoides (Bristly Greenbriar) · S. walteri (Coral Greenbrier)

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Further Reading

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• A floristic study of the attached algae of Lake Mize, Florida / by Helen Davis Brown. 1972. url p. 26.
• A survey of natural areas in Brunswick County, North Carolina: for The North Carolina Natural Heritage Program, Coastal Natural Area Inventory Project / Raleigh: North Carolina Coastal Energy Impact Program, Office of Coastal Management, North Carolina Dept. of Natural Resources and Community Development, [1982?] url .
• A survey of natural areas in Tyrrell County, North Carolina: for The North Carolina Natural Heritage Program, Coastal Natural Area Inventory Project / Raleigh: North Carolina Coastal Energy Impact Program, Office of Coastal Management, North Carolina Dept. of Natural Resources and Community Development, [1982?] url p. 8, p. 91.
• American plants. .. [Descriptions, bibliographical notes, synonymy, and other information, comp. from many sources] Charles Russell Orcutt, editor. San Diego, Calif., [1907]-1910. url p. 1070.
• Annual report Missouri Botanical Garden. 5 1894 St. Louis: Board of Trustees, 1890-1912. url p. 150, p. 196.
• Annual report of the Bureau of American Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. Washington: U. S. Govt. Print. Off., 1897- url p. 667, p. 892.
• Annual report of the State Horticultural Society of Missouri. Jefferson City, Mo.: The Society, 1894-[1907] url .
• Bartonia;proceedings of the Philadelphia botanical club. .. 29 - 41 1957 - 19 Philadelphia, Philadelphia Botanical Club, Academy of Natural Sciences. url p. 18, p. 29.
• Biltmore Nursery, Biltmorse, N.C. [North Carolina?: The Nursery?], c1912 url p. 100.
• Biologia centrali-americana; or, Contributions to the knowledge of the fauna and flora of Mexico and Central America. London, Pub. for the editors by R. H. Porter and Dulau & co., 1879-88. url .
• Birds; a miscellaneous collection of 37 pamphlets about birds. Collected and privately bound by Alvin Seale, 1914. v.p., 1910-1913 url p. 42, p. 52, p. 58.
• Bulletin / Illinois Natural History Survey. Urbana, State of Illinois, Dept. of Registration and Education, Natural History Survey Division, 1918-1985. url p. 427.
• Bulletin / U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Industry. Washington: G.P.O., 1901-1913. url p. 126.
• Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club. 21 1894 New York: Torrey Botanical Club, 1870-1996 url p. 428.
• Bulletin of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. [Washington, D.C.?]: Supt. of Docs., G.P.O., 1913-1923. url , p. 13, p. 22.
• Bulletin of the scientific laboratories of Denison University. Granville, Ohio: [The University], 1885- url p. 34, p. 84.
• Catalogue of the phanerogams and ferns of Licking County, Ohio. Granville, Ohio, Press of Granville Times, 1892. url .
• Contributions from the United States National Herbarium 6 1901 Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1890- url p. 101, p. 104, p. 271, p. 315, p. 379, p. 401, p. 445, p. 485, p. 521.
• Erigenia: journal of the Illinois Native Plant Society. Carbondale, Ill.: The Society, 1982- url p. 13, p. 33, p. 36, p. 40.
• Flood tolerance of plant species in bottomland forests of the southeastern United States / 1992. url p. 106, p. 122, p. 123, p. 129, p. 133, p. 139, p. 146, p. 148, p. 150, p. 151, p. 152, p. 153, p. 154, p. 158, p. 162, p. 165, p. 166, p. 178, p. 193, p. 198.
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• Flowers of field, hill, and swamp; New York, Harper & Brothers, 1899. url .
• Food habits of the grosbeaks. Washington, Govt. Print. Off., 1908. url .
• Food of the woodpeckers of the United States / Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Biological Survey, 1911. url .
• Forestry research report. Urbana, Ill., Agricultural Experiment Station, Dept. of Forestry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. url .
• Geological report of the country along the line of the southwestern branch of the Pacific Railroad, State of Missouri By G.C. Swallow, State Geologist. To which is prefixed a memoir of the Pacific Railroad St. Louis, Printed by G. Knapp, 1859 url p. 79, p. 79.
• Harper's guide to wild flowers, by Mrs. Caroline A. Creevey. New York, Harper, 1912. url p. 547.
• Hill prairies of Illinois. Urbana, 1955. url p. 427.
• Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society. Chapel Hill, N.C. [etc.]Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society [etc.] url , p. 110, p. 110, p. 66, p. 71.
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• Marcellia. New York [etc.]Pergamon Press [etc.] url p. 72.
• Message from the President of the United States, transmitting a report of the secretary of agriculture in relation to the forests, rivers and mountains of the southern Appalachian region. Washington, Gov't print. off., 1902. url p. 107.
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• Native woody plants of the United States, their erosion-control and wildlife values. Washington, U. S. Govt. print. off., 1938. url , , , , p. 261, p. 262.
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• Natural area inventory of Washington County, North Carolina / [Raleigh]: North Carolina Coastal Energy Impact Program, Office of Coastal Management, North Carolina Department of Natural Resources and Community Development, 1982. url p. 166.
• Natural areas inventory of Carteret County, North Carolina: for the North Carolina Natural Heritage Program, Coastal Natural Area Inventory Project / [Raleigh]: N.C. Coastal Energy Impact Program, Office of Coastal Management, N.C. Dept. of Natural Resources and Community Development, [1983]. url p. 210, p. 235, p. 39, p. 75.
• Phytologia. Bronx Park, New York, H.A. Gleason and H.N. Moldenke, url p. 126, p. 188, p. 19, p. 331, p. 357, p. 37, p. 381, p. 39, p. 41, p. 61, p. 72, p. 94, p. 95, p. 96.
• Plant life of Alabama, an account of the distribution, modes of association, and adaptations of the flora of Alabama, together with a systematic catalogue of the plants growing in the state. By Charles Mohr. .. Montgomery, Ala., Brown printing co., 1901. url p. 101, p. 445, p. 68.
• Plant life of Alabama: an account of the distribution, modes of association, and adaptations of the flora of Alabama, together with a systematic catalogue of the plants growing in the state / by Charles Mohr. Montgomery, Ala.: Brown Printing Co., 1901. url p. 445.
• Plants of Mississippi: a list of flowering plants and ferns / by E.N. Lowe. [Jackson, Miss.]: Mississippi State Geological Survey, 1921. url p. 119, p. 36.
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Notes

Contributors

• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 13, 2012.

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 22, 2007:

• Missouri Botanical Garden, Missouri Botanical Garden
• USDA PLANTS, USDA PLANTS Database
• University of Alabama Biodiversity and Systematics, Herbarium
• Utah State University, USU-UTC Specimen Database

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 2662883
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Kew-288543
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 13755020
• Globally Unique Identifier: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:541314-1
• GRIN Nomen Number: 34516
• Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 43341
• International Plant Names Index (IPNI) ID: 541314-1
• U.S.D.A. Plant Symbol: SMBOH2
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 63453

Footnotes

1. Walter C. Holmes "Smilacaceae". in Flora of North America Vol. 26 Page 12, 13, 14, 17, 20, 468. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
2. "Smilax". in Flora of North America Vol. 26 Page 14, 468, 469, 474, 477. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
3. "Smilax bona-nox". in Flora of North America Vol. 26 Page 470, 471, 472, 477. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
4. Mean = 154.880 meters (508.136 feet), Standard Deviation = 162.520 based on 719 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]

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