Smilax tamnoides

• 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

Wet to dry woods , thickets, bottomlands ; 0--400 m [3].

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 1,953 meters (0 to 6,407 feet).[4]

Biology

Reproduction

Duration: Perennial

Growth

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Full Sun .

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

Taxonomy

Synonyms

S. hispida Muhlenberg Ex Torrey • S. hispida var. australis Small • S. hispida var. montana Coker • S. tamnoides var. hispida (Muhlenberg Ex Torrey) Fernald • Smilax grandifolia Buckley • Smilax hispida Muhl. Ex Torr. • Smilax hispida var. australis Small • Smilax hispida var. montana Coker • Smilax tamnoides var. hispida (Muhl. Ex Torr.) 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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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

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 2662887
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Kew-289107
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 13755015
• Globally Unique Identifier: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:541894-1
• GRIN Nomen Number: 418816
• Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 43348
• International Plant Names Index (IPNI) ID: 541893-1
• U.S.D.A. Plant Symbol: SMTAH
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 63460

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 tamnoides". in Flora of North America Vol. 26 Page 470, 472, 477, 478. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
4. Mean = 233.530 meters (766.175 feet), Standard Deviation = 166.180 based on 1,035 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]

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