Smilax is a genus of about 300–350 species, found in the tropics and subtropics worldwide. In China for example about 80 are found, while there are 20 in North America north of Mexico. They are climbing flowering plants, many of which are woody and/or thorny, in the monocotyledon family Smilacaceae, native throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Common names include catbriers, greenbriers, prickly-ivys and smilaxes. Sarsaparilla is a name used specifically for the Neotropical S. ornata as well as a catch-all term in particular for American species. Occasionally, the non-woody species such as the smooth herbaceous greenbrier are separated as genus Nemexia; they are commonly known by the rather ambiguous name carrion flowers.
Allium canadense, the Canada onion, Canadian garlic, wild garlic, meadow garlic and wild onion is a perennial plant native to eastern North America from Texas to Florida to New Brunswick to Montana. The species is also cultivated in other regions as an ornamental and as a garden culinary herb. The plant is also reportedly naturalized in Cuba.
Quercus gambelii, with the common name Gambel oak, is a deciduous small tree or large shrub that is widespread in the foothills and lower mountains of western North America. It is also regionally called scrub oak, oak brush, and white oak.
Smilax rotundifolia, also known as roundleaf greenbrier or common greenbrier, is a woody vine native to the southeastern and eastern United States and eastern Canada. It is a common and conspicuous part of the natural forest ecosystems in much of its native range. The leaves are glossy green, petioled, alternate, and circular to heart-shaped. They are generally 5–13 cm long. Common greenbrier climbs other plants using green tendrils growing out of the petioles.
Nannorrhops ritchiana, the Mazari palm, is the sole species in the genus Nannorrhops in the palm family Arecaceae.
Quercus ilicifolia, commonly known as bear oak or scrub oak, is a small shrubby oak native to the Eastern United States and, less commonly, in southeastern Canada. Its range in the United States extends from Maine to North Carolina, with reports of a few populations north of the international frontier in Ontario. The name ilicifolia means "holly-leaved."
Smilax glauca, the cat greenbriar or catbriar is a woody vine in the family Smilacaceae. It is native to central and eastern portions of the United States as well as Mexico, where it is a common and conspicuous part of the forest vegetation.
Smilax laurifolia is a species of flowering plant in the greenbrier family known by the common names laurel greenbrier, laurelleaf greenbrier, bamboo vine, and blaspheme vine. It is native to the southeastern United States, where it occurs along the Gulf and Atlantic coastal plains from Texas to New Jersey, the range extending inland to Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. It also occurs in Cuba and the Bahamas.
Smilax bona-nox, the saw greenbrier, is a species of plant in the family Smilacaceae. It is native to the Southern United States, and eastern Mexico.
Claytonia caroliniana, the Carolina springbeauty, is an herbaceous perennial in the family Montiaceae. It was formerly placed in the Portulacaceae. Its native range is eastern and central North America. It is most commonly found in the New England area of the United States but its habitat extends from Ontario and a northern limit in the Cape Anguille Mountains of Newfoundland and south to Alabama. It grows approximately 6 inches tall in forests of the Appalachian Mountains and piedmont
Liparis liliifolia, known as the brown widelip orchid, lily-leaved twayblade, large twayblade, and mauve sleekwort, is a species of orchid native to eastern Canada and the eastern United States. It can be found in a variety of habitats, such as forests, shrublands, thickets, woodlands, and mountains. The orchid is considered globally secure, but it is considered rare or endangered in many northeastern states.
Smilax biltmoreana, common name Biltmore's carrionflower, is a North American plant species native to the southeastern United States. It is concentrated in the Great Smoky Mountains but with outlying populations in Virginia, North and South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, Alabama, and northern Florida.
Smilax illinoensis , the Illinois greenbrier, is a North American species of plants found only in the United States and Canada. It is native primarily to the Great Lakes Region with a few populations farther south in Missouri and in the Ohio Valley.
Smilax lasioneura, the Blue Ridge carrionflower, is a North American species of flowering plants in the greenbriar family. It is widespread across central Canada and the central United States, from Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan south to Texas, Louisiana, and Florida.
Smilax pseudochina is a perennial herb in the greenbriar family. It is commonly called bamboo vine or false chinaroot. Its range extends up the Atlantic Coast of the United States, from Long Island in New York State south to Georgia.
Smilax pulverulenta, the downy carrionflower, is a North American species of plants native to the eastern and central United States. The plant is fairly common in the Ozarks, the Appalachians, and the Mid-Atlantic States, with isolated populations in Rhode Island, Minnesota, and Nebraska.
Smilax pumila, the sarsaparilla vine, is a North American species of plants native to the southeastern United States from eastern Texas to South Carolina.
Smilax tamnoides, common name bristly greenbrier, is a North American species of plants native to the United States and Canada. It is widespread from Ontario and New York State south to Texas and Florida.
Smilax walteri, common names coral greenbrier, red-berried greenbrier or red-berried bamboo, is a North American species of plants found only in the United States. It is native to coastal plains in the south-central, southeastern, and east-central parts of the country, from eastern Texas to New Jersey.
Smilax ecirrhata, the upright carrionflower, is a species of flowering plant in the Greenbriar family. It is native to Ontario and to the central United States. It is found in rich, calcareous forests along floodplains. It is an herbaceous plant that has green umbels of flowers in late spring.
