Smilax

Plant Characteristics

Habit		vine-climber

Cultivation

Scientific Names

Smilacaceae >

Smilax >

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Plant Characteristics

Origin:	✈	?

Cultivation

Exposure:	☼	?"?" is not in the list (sun, part-sun, shade, unknown) of allowed values for the "Exposure" property.
Water:	◍	?"?" is not in the list (wet, moist, moderate, dry, less when dormant) of allowed values for the "Water" property.

Scientific Names

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 The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

Cultivation

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References

• Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963

External links

• w:Smilax. Some of the material on this page may be from Wikipedia, under the Creative Commons license.
• Smilax QR Code (Size 50, 100, 200, 500)