Difference between revisions of "Smilax"

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|genus=Smilax
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:''For another plant sometimes called Smilax see ''[[Asparagus asparagoides]]''.''
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'''''Smilax''''' is a genus of about 300-350 [[species]], found in temperate zones, [[tropics]] and [[subtropic]]s worldwide. In [[China]] for example about 80 are found (39 of which are [[Endemism|endemic]]), while there are 20 in [[North America]] north of [[Mexico]]<ref>Raven & Zhengyi (2000), FNAEC (2002)</ref>. They are climbing [[flowering plant]]s, many of which are woody and/or thorny, in the [[monocotyledon]] [[family (biology)|family]] [[Smilacaceae]], native throughout the tropical and warm temperate regions of the world. Common names include '''catbriers, greenbriers, prickly-ivys''' and '''smilaxes'''. '''"Sarsaparilla"''' (also zarzaparrilla, sarsparilla) is a name used specifically for the [[Jamaica]]n ''[[Smilax regelii|S. regelii]]'' as well as a catch-all term in particular for American species. Occasionally, the non-woody species such as the [[Smooth Herbaceous Greenbrier]] (''S. herbacea'') are separated as genus ''Nemexia''; they are commonly known by the rather ambiguous name '''"[[carrion flower]]s"'''.
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Greenbriers get their [[scientific name]] from the Greek myth of [[Krokus (mythology)|Krokus]] and the [[nymph]] Smilax.<ref>Mifsud (2002)</ref> Though this myth has numerous forms, it always centers around the unfulfilled and tragic love of a [[Human|mortal]] man who is turned into [[crocus|a flower]], and a woodland [[nymph]] who is transformed into a brambly vine.  (Compare the story of [[Barbara_Allen_(song)|Barbara Allen]] and sweet William: ''They buried Barbara in the old church yard / They buried Sweet William beside her / Out of his grave grew a red, red rose / And out of hers a briar.'')
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On their own, ''Smilax'' plants will grow as shrubs, forming dense impenetrable thickets. They will also grow over trees and other plants up to 10 m high, their hooked thorns allowing them to hang onto and scramble over branches. The genus includes both [[deciduous]] and [[evergreen]] species. The [[leaf|leaves]] are heart-shaped and vary from 4-30 cm long in different species.
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Greenbrier is [[plant sexuality|dioecious]]. However, only about one in three colonies have plants of both sexes. Plants flower in May and June with white/green clustered [[flower]]s. If [[pollination]] occurs, the plant will produce a bright red to blue-black spherical [[berry]] [[fruit]] about 5-10 mm in diameter that matures in the fall.
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The berry is rubbery in texture and has a large, spherical seed in the center. The fruit stays intact through winter, when [[bird]]s and other animals eat them to survive. The seeds are passed unharmed in the animal's droppings. Since many ''Smilax'' colonies are single clones that have spread by [[rhizome]]s, both sexes may not be present at a site, in which case no fruit is formed.
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''Smilax'' is a very damage-tolerant plant capable of growing back from its [[rhizome]]s after being cut down or burned down by [[wildfire|fire]]. This, coupled with the fact that birds and other small animals spread the seeds over large areas, makes the plants very hard to get rid of. It grows best in moist woodlands with a soil [[pH]] between 5 and 6. The seeds have the greatest chance of germinating after being exposed to a freeze.
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Smilax (ancient Greek name). Liliaceae. The greenbriers, useful for winter greens and outdoor planting.
 
Smilax (ancient Greek name). Liliaceae. The greenbriers, useful for winter greens and outdoor planting.
  
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==Cultivation==
 
==Cultivation==
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===Propagation===
 
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===Pests and diseases===
 
===Pests and diseases===
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==Species==
 
==Species==
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<!-- This section should be renamed Cultivars if it appears on a page for a species (rather than genus), or perhaps Varieties if there is a mix of cultivars, species, hybrids, etc    -->
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Selected species:
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The genus is divided into a number of sections.  Section ''Smilax'' includes "[[woody plant|woody]],"<ref>Being a [[monocot]], members of the Family Smilacacea can not lay down true wood{{Fact|date=March 2008}}</ref> prickly [[vine]]s of temperate [[North America]], for example Cat Greenbrier (''[[Smilax glauca|S. glauca]]'') and Common Greenbrier (''[[Smilax rotundifolia|S. rotundifolia]]'')<ref name = fnaec2002>FNAEC (2002)</ref>. Section ''[[Coprosmanthus]]'' includes unarmed [[herbaceous plant]]s of temperate North America, for example "[[carrion flower]]s" like the Smooth Herbaceous Greenbrier (''[[Smilax herbacea|S. herbacea]]'').<ref name = fnaec2002 />
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[[Image:Smilax canariensis (Habitus).jpg|thumb|right|''[[Smilax canariensis]]'']]
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[[Image:Sarutoriibara 08b2113.jpg|thumb|right|China Smilax (''[[Smilax china|S. china]]''), unripe fruit]]
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[[Image:Smilax herbacea.png|thumb|right|The "[[carrion flower]]" ''[[Smilax herbacea|S. herbacea]]'']]
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[[Image:Starr 020808-0053 Smilax melastomifolia.jpg|thumb|right|''[[Smilax melastomifolia]]'', called ''hoi kuahiwi'' on [[Hawaii|Hawai{{okina}}i]]]]
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{{col-begin|width=70%}}
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{{col-1-of-3}}
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* ''[[Smilax amaurophlebia]]'' <small>Merr.</small>
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* ''[[Smilax anamitica]]'' <small>Kuntze</small>
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* ''[[Smilax aristolochiifolia]]'' <small>[[Philip Miller|Mill.]]</small> – American Sarsaparilla <!-- "aristolochaefolia" is lapsus -->
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* ''[[Smilax aspera]]'' <small>L.</small> – Mediterranean Smilax, Common Smilax, Rough Smilax
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* ''[[Smilax auraimensis]]'' <small>Steyerm.</small>
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* ''[[Smilax australis]]'' <small>[[Robert Brown (botanist)|R.Br.]]</small> – Lawyer Vine, Barbwire Vine, "wait-a-while" ([[Australia]])
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* ''[[Smilax balansaeana]]'' <small>H.Bon ex Gagnep.</small>
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* ''[[Smilax balbisiana]]'' <small></small> – Chainy Root
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* ''[[Smilax bella]]'' <small>J.F.Macbr.</small>
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* ''[[Smilax benthamiana]]'' <small>A.DC.</small>
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* ''[[Smilax biltmoreana]]''<!-- (Small) revised by? -->
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* ''[[Smilax biumbellata]]'' <small>T.Koyama</small>
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* ''[[Smilax blumei]]'' <small>A.DC.</small>
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* ''[[Smilax bona-nox]]'' <small>L.</small> – Saw Greenbrier
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* ''[[Smilax bracteata]]'' <small>Presl</small>
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* ''[[Smilax brasiliensis]]'' <small>Sprengel.</small> – ''salsaparrilha-do-campo'' ([[Brazil]])<!-- Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia 14 (3) 285-287 -->
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* ''[[Smilax calophylla]]'' <small>A.DC.</small>
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* ''[[Smilax campestris]]'' <small>Griseb.</small>
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* ''[[Smilax canariensis]]''
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* ''[[Smilax castaneiflora]]'' <small>Lev.</small>
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* ''[[Smilax chimantensis]]'' <small>Steyerm. & Maguire</small>
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* ''[[Smilax china]]'' <small>L.</small><ref>{{citation | url = http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200027905 | title = 6. Smilax china Linnaeus }}</ref> – [[China Smilax]]{{Verify source|date=October 2008}}
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* ''[[Smilax chingii]]'' <small>F.T. Wang & Ts.Tang</small>
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* ''[[Smilax cinnamomiifolia]]'' <small>Small</small>
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* ''[[Smilax cocculoides]]'' <small>Warb.</small>
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* ''[[Smilax colubrina]]'' <small>J.F.Macbr.</small>
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* ''[[Smilax corbularia]]'' <small>Kunth</small>
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* ''[[Smilax davidiana]]'' <small>A.DC.</small>
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* ''[[Smilax diversifolia]]'' <small>Small</small>
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* ''[[Smilax ecirrata]]''<!-- (Engelman.) revised by or no parentheses? --> – Upright Greenbrier
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* ''[[Smilax elegans]]'' <small>Wall.</small>
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* ''[[Smilax elegantissima]]'' <small>Gagnep.</small>
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* ''[[Smilax engleriana]]'' <small>Apt</small>
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* ''[[Smilax excelsa]]'' <small>L.</small>
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* ''[[Smilax extensa]]'' <small>A.DC.</small>
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* ''[[Smilax flavicaulis]]'' <small>Rusby</small>
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* ''[[Smilax gaumeri]]'' <small>Millsp.</small>
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* ''[[Smilax gilva]]'' <small>J.F.Macbr.</small>
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* ''[[Smilax glabra]]'' <small>Roxb.</small> – Chinaroot, ''tufuling'' (土茯苓)
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* ''[[Smilax glauca]]'' <small>Walter</small> – Cat Greenbrier, Glaucous Greenbrier
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* ''[[Smilax glyciphylla]]'' <small>[[James Edward Smith|Sm.]]</small> – Sweet Sarsaparilla, Native Sarsaparilla ([[Australia]])
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* ''[[Smilax graciliflora]]'' <small>A.C.Sm.</small>
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{{col-2-of-3}}
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* ''[[Smilax grandifolia]]'' <small>Buckley</small>
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* ''[[Smilax griffithii]]'' <small>A.DC.</small>
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* ''[[Smilax havanensis]]'' <small>Jacq.</small>
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* ''[[Smilax helferi]]'' <small>A.DC.</small>
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* ''[[Smilax herbacea]]'' <small>L.</small> – Smooth Herbaceous Greenbrier, "carrion flower" (southern [[Quebec]] in [[Canada]], [[Eastern United States]])
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* ''[[Smilax hispida]]'' <small>Muhl.</small> – Bristly Greenbrier
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* ''[[Smilax hongkongensis]]'' <small>Seem.</small>
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* ''[[Smilax hugeri]]''<!-- (Small) revised by? -->
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* ''[[Smilax hypoglauca]]'' <small>Benth.</small>
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* ''[[Smilax illinoensis]]'' – Illinois Greenbrier
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* ''[[Smilax immersa]]'' <small>A.C.Sm.</small>
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* ''[[Smilax impressinervia]]'' <small>F.T. Wang</small>
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* ''[[Smilax inversa]]'' <small>T.Koyama</small>
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* ''[[Smilax japicanga]]'' <small>[[August Grisebach|Griseb.]]</small>
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* ''[[Smilax kraussiana]]'' <small>Meissner</small>
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* ''[[Smilax krukovii]]'' <small>A.C.Sm.</small>
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* ''[[Smilax laevis]]'' <small>A.DC.</small>
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* ''[[Smilax lanceifolia]]'' <small>Roxb.</small>
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* ''[[Smilax lasioneuron]]'' <small>Hook.</small> – Herbaceous Greenbrier
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* ''[[Smilax lasseriana]]'' <small>Steyerm.</small>
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* ''[[Smilax lata]]'' <small>Small</small>
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* ''[[Smilax latipes]]'' <small>Gleason</small>
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* ''[[Smilax laurifolia]]'' <small>L.</small>
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* ''[[Smilax lemsleyana]]'' <small>Craib</small>
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* ''[[Smilax leptanthera]]'' <small>Pennell</small>
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* ''[[Smilax longipedunculata]]'' <small>Merr.</small>
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* ''[[Smilax luei]]'' <small>T.Koyama</small>
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* ''[[Smilax luzonensis]]'' <small>Presl</small>
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* ''[[Smilax macrophylla]]'' <small>Roxb.</small>
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* ''[[Smilax maculata]]'' <small>Roxb.</small>
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* ''[[Smilax magnifolia]]'' <small>J.F.Macbr.</small>
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* ''[[Smilax mairei]]'' <small>Lev.</small>
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* ''[[Smilax medica]]'' <small>[[Schltdl.]] et [[Cham.]]</small>
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* ''[[Smilax medicinalis]]'' <small>S.Moore</small>
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* ''[[Smilax megacarpa]]'' <small>A.DC.</small>
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* ''[[Smilax melastomifolia]]'' <small>Sm.</small> – ''Hoi kuahiwi'' ([[Hawaii|Hawai{{okina}}i]])
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* ''[[Smilax menispermoidea]]''
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* ''[[Smilax micro-china]]'' <small>T.Koyama</small>
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* ''[[Smilax microphylla]]'' <small>C.H.Wright</small>
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* ''[[Smilax micropoda]]'' <small>A.DC.</small>
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* ''[[Smilax minutiflora]]'' <small>A.DC.</small>
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* ''[[Smilax moranensis]]'' <small>Mart. & Galeotti</small>
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* ''[[Smilax myosotiflora]]'' <small>A.DC.</small>
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* ''[[Smilax myrtillus]]'' <small>A.DC.</small>
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* ''[[Smilax occidentalis]]'' <small>[[Conrad Vernon Morton|C.V.Morton]]</small>
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* ''[[Smilax ocreata]]'' <small>DC.</small>
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* ''[[Smilax opaca]]'' <small>(A.DC.) Norton</small>
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* ''[[Smilax officinalis]]'' <small>[[August Grisebach|Griseb.]]</small>
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* ''[[Smilax ovalifolia]]'' <small>Roxb.</small>
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* ''[[Smilax ovalifolia]]'' <small>Roxb.</small>
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* ''[[Smilax oxyphylla]]'' <small>Wall.</small>
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* ''[[Smilax pallescens]]'' <small>A.DC.</small>
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* ''[[Smilax panamensis]]'' <small>Morong</small>
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* ''[[Smilax peguana]]'' <small>A.DC.</small>
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* ''[[Smilax perfoliata]]'' <small>Lour.</small>
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* ''[[Smilax phyllantha]]'' <small>Gagnep.</small>
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* ''[[Smilax pilcomayensis]]'' <small>Guagl. & S.Gattuso</small>
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* ''[[Smilax pottingeri]]'' <small>Prain</small>
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* ''[[Smilax prolifera]]'' <small>Roxb.</small>
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* ''[[Smilax pseudochina]]''<!-- (L.) revised by or no parentheses? --> – False Chinaroot
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* ''[[Smilax pulverulenta]]''<!-- (Michx.) revised by or no parentheses? -->
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* ''[[Smilax purpusii]]'' <small>Brandegee</small>
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* ''[[Smilax pygmaea]]'' <small>Merr.</small>
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* ''[[Smilax quinquenervia]]'' <small>[[Vell.]]</small>
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* ''Smilax regelii'' <small>Killip & C.V.Morton</small> – [[Sarsaparilla]], Jamaican Sarsaparilla (southern [[Mexico]], northern [[Central America]])
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* ''[[Smilax renifolia]]'' <small>Small</small>
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* ''[[Smilax reticulata]]'' <small>Elmer</small>
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* ''[[Smilax rigida]]'' <small>Wall. or Kunth</small>
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* ''[[Smilax robert-kingii]]'' <small>T.Koyama</small>
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* ''[[Smilax rotundifolia]]'' <small>L.</small> – Common Greenbrier ([[Eastern United States]])
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* ''[[Smilax saülensis]]'' <small>J.D.Mitch.</small>
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* ''[[Smilax siamensis]]'' <small>T.Koyama</small>
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* ''[[Smilax simulans]]'' <small>T.Koyama</small>
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* ''[[Smilax smallii]]'' <small>Morong</small>
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* ''[[Smilax spicata]]'' <small>[[Vell.]]</small>
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* ''[[Smilax spinosa]]'' <small>Mill.</small>
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* ''[[Smilax spruceana]]'' <small>A.DC.</small>
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* ''[[Smilax staminea]]'' <small>([[August Grisebach|Griseb.]]) Forman{{Verify source|date=October 2008}}<!-- "Griseb."? --></small>
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* ''[[Smilax stans]]'' <small>Maxim.</small>
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* ''[[Smilax stenopetala]]'' <small>A.Gray</small>
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* ''[[Smilax subsessiliflora]]'' <small>Poir.</small>
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* ''[[Smilax synandra]]'' <small>Gagnep.</small>
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* ''[[Smilax tamnoides]]'' – Halberd-leaved Greenbrier
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* ''[[Smilax tenuis]]'' <small>Small</small>
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* ''[[Smilax tetragona]]''
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* ''[[Smilax velutina]]'' <small>Killip & C.V.Morton</small>
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* ''[[Smilax verruculosa]]'' <small>Merr.</small>
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* ''[[Smilax verticalis]]'' <small>Gagnep.</small>
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* ''[[Smilax walteri]]'' <small>Pursh.</small>
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* ''[[Smilax williamsii]]'' <small>Merr.</small>
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* ''[[Smilax zeylanica]]'' <small>L.</small>
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==References==
 
==References==
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*[[Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture]], by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963
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<!--- xxxxx  *Flora: The Gardener's Bible, by Sean Hogan. Global Book Publishing, 2003. ISBN 0881925381  -->
 
<!--- xxxxx  *Flora: The Gardener's Bible, by Sean Hogan. Global Book Publishing, 2003. ISBN 0881925381  -->
 
<!--- xxxxx  *American Horticultural Society: A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants, by Christopher Brickell, Judith D. Zuk. 1996. ISBN 0789419432  -->
 
<!--- xxxxx  *American Horticultural Society: A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants, by Christopher Brickell, Judith D. Zuk. 1996. ISBN 0789419432  -->
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<!--  in order to add all the proper categories, go to http://www.plants.am/wiki/Plant_Categories and copy/paste the contents of the page here, and then follow the easy instructions!    -->
 

Latest revision as of 16:33, 1 June 2010


Smilax aspera.jpg


Plant Characteristics
Habit   vine-climber
Cultivation
Scientific Names

Smilacaceae >

Smilax >


If this plant info box on watering; zones; height; etc. is mostly empty you can click on the edit tab and fill in the blanks!


For another plant sometimes called Smilax see Asparagus asparagoides.

Smilax is a genus of about 300-350 species, found in temperate zones, tropics and subtropics worldwide. In China for example about 80 are found (39 of which are endemic), while there are 20 in North America north of Mexico[1]. They are climbing flowering plants, many of which are woody and/or thorny, in the monocotyledon family Smilacaceae, native throughout the tropical and warm temperate regions of the world. Common names include catbriers, greenbriers, prickly-ivys and smilaxes. "Sarsaparilla" (also zarzaparrilla, sarsparilla) is a name used specifically for the Jamaican S. regelii as well as a catch-all term in particular for American species. Occasionally, the non-woody species such as the Smooth Herbaceous Greenbrier (S. herbacea) are separated as genus Nemexia; they are commonly known by the rather ambiguous name "carrion flowers".

Greenbriers get their scientific name from the Greek myth of Krokus and the nymph Smilax.[2] Though this myth has numerous forms, it always centers around the unfulfilled and tragic love of a mortal man who is turned into a flower, and a woodland nymph who is transformed into a brambly vine. (Compare the story of Barbara Allen and sweet William: They buried Barbara in the old church yard / They buried Sweet William beside her / Out of his grave grew a red, red rose / And out of hers a briar.)

On their own, Smilax plants will grow as shrubs, forming dense impenetrable thickets. They will also grow over trees and other plants up to 10 m high, their hooked thorns allowing them to hang onto and scramble over branches. The genus includes both deciduous and evergreen species. The leaves are heart-shaped and vary from 4-30 cm long in different species.

Greenbrier is dioecious. However, only about one in three colonies have plants of both sexes. Plants flower in May and June with white/green clustered flowers. If pollination occurs, the plant will produce a bright red to blue-black spherical berry fruit about 5-10 mm in diameter that matures in the fall.

The berry is rubbery in texture and has a large, spherical seed in the center. The fruit stays intact through winter, when birds and other animals eat them to survive. The seeds are passed unharmed in the animal's droppings. Since many Smilax colonies are single clones that have spread by rhizomes, both sexes may not be present at a site, in which case no fruit is formed.

Smilax is a very damage-tolerant plant capable of growing back from its rhizomes after being cut down or burned down by fire. This, coupled with the fact that birds and other small animals spread the seeds over large areas, makes the plants very hard to get rid of. It grows best in moist woodlands with a soil pH between 5 and 6. The seeds have the greatest chance of germinating after being exposed to a freeze.


Read about Smilax in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture 

Smilax (ancient Greek name). Liliaceae. The greenbriers, useful for winter greens and outdoor planting.

Usually woody climbers with paired tendrils on the base of the petiole; sometimes shrubs or herbaceous perennials, young shoots little branched, old woody shoots becoming much branched above; shoots arising from a rootstock, slow-growing and woody or with large fleshy tubers; in some species with long creeping rhizomes: lower lvs. reduced to scales, the upper simple or slightly lobed, 3-7 (or more) -nerved, deciduous to completely evergreen, usually variable in outline on different types of branches: fls. rather small, dioecious, usually numerous in axillary peduncled umbels; pedicels uniform in length: berries normally globose, 1-6-seeded, blackish or red.—Over 200 species generally distributed over the world.

The genus Smilax, of which there are twenty-five species native to the United States, has been used very little in this country for planting in ornamental grounds, its value as a decorative plant having been largely ignored. The vines of the wild plants have been gathered locally for decorations and S. lanceolata, the Florida smilax of the trade, is extensively shipped from the southern states to the northern centers for use in large decorations. Most of the common woody species of the North are unsuited for planting in restricted areas as they spread rapidly by underground stems. None of the native species listed below is ordinarily handled by nurserymen.

The smilax of florists is Asparagus asparagoides. See p. 3175; also p. 409, Vol. I.

S. argyrea, Lind. & Rod. Tender foliage plant: st. wiry, slender, armed with short, stout thorns: lvs. lanceolate, becoming 8-10 in. long, dark green, blotched with gray, 3-nerved, short-petioled: fls. and fr. unknown. Bolivia. I.H. 39:152. J.H. III. 46:77. According to G.F. 8:305 the above species is a robust healthy plant doing well in a moderate temperature and quickly forming ornamental specimens. It should be given a rich, fibrous soil and a light and sunny position. It may be prop. by half-ripe cuttings of the side shoots with 2-3 eyes inserted in a moderately warm bed. This may be any one of a number of S. American species. The variegated foliage is found in practically all of the woody plants of this genus, being strongly developed in S. glauca, S. Bona-nox and S. lanceolata. CH


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Cultivation

Propagation

Pests and diseases

Species

Selected species: The genus is divided into a number of sections. Section Smilax includes "woody,"[3] prickly vines of temperate North America, for example Cat Greenbrier (S. glauca) and Common Greenbrier (S. rotundifolia)[4]. Section Coprosmanthus includes unarmed herbaceous plants of temperate North America, for example "carrion flowers" like the Smooth Herbaceous Greenbrier (S. herbacea).[4]

Smilax canariensis
China Smilax (S. china), unripe fruit
The "carrion flower" S. herbacea

[[Image:Starr 020808-0053 Smilax melastomifolia.jpg|thumb|right|Smilax melastomifolia, called hoi kuahiwi on [[Hawaii|HawaiTemplate:Okinai]]]]

Gallery

  • photo 1

  • photo 2

  • photo 3

References

  1. ↑ Raven & Zhengyi (2000), FNAEC (2002)
  2. ↑ Mifsud (2002)
  3. ↑ Being a monocot, members of the Family Smilacacea can not lay down true woodTemplate:Fact
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 FNAEC (2002)
  5. ↑ Template:Citation

External links


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