Smilax tamnoides

Last updated

Bristly greenbrier
Smilax tamnoides 2009-05-24 01.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Liliales
Family: Smilacaceae
Genus: Smilax
Species:
S. tamnoides
Binomial name
Smilax tamnoides
L. 1753
Synonyms [1]
  • Smilax hispidaMuhl. ex Torr. 1843, illegitimate homonym not Raf. 1840
  • Smilax medicaPetz. & G.Kirchn. 1864, illegitimate homonym not Schltdl. & Cham. 1831
  • Dilax muricataRaf.
  • Smilax grandifoliaBuckley

Smilax tamnoides, common name bristly greenbrier, [2] 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. [1] [3]

Contents

The plant has been called Smilax hispida in many publications, but the name Smilax tamnoides is much older and under the botanical rules of priority it is the preferred name.

Description

Smilax tamnoides may grow as a shrub or a climbing, prickly vine that supports itself on other vegetation. [4] When growing as a vine, it may grow up to 9.1 to 13.7 meters (30-45 feet) in length. [4] Flowers are green to brown, small but numerous in umbels; fruits blue to black without the waxy coating common on many other species of the genus. [5]

Habitat

S. tamnoides may be found in habitat types such as mixed pine forests, wooded hammocks, wooded ravines, and river bluffs, among others. [6]

Conservation status in the United States

It is as a special concern species and believed extirpated in Connecticut. [7]

References

  1. 1 2 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  2. ↑ Virginia Tech, Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation, bristly greenbrier Smilacaceae Smilax tamnoides Archived 2015-03-08 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ↑ Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map, Smilax hispida, synonym of Smilax tamnoides
  4. 1 2 "USDA Plants Database". plants.usda.gov. Retrieved 2025-07-28.
  5. ↑ Flora of North America Vol. 26 Page 477 China root, hellfetter, bristly greenbrier Smilax tamnoides Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 1030. 1753.
  6. ↑ Florida State University Herbarium Database. URL: http://herbarium.bio.fsu.edu. Last accessed: June 2021. Collectors: R.K. Godfrey, R. Kral, Richard S. Mitchell, and William Platt. States and counties: Florida: Gadsden, Jackson, Jefferson, Leon, and Volusia. Georgia: Thomas.
  7. ↑ "Connecticut's Endangered, Threatened and Special Concern Species 2015". State of Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Bureau of Natural Resources. Retrieved 31 December 2017.(Note: This list is newer than the one used by plants.usda.gov and is more up-to-date.)
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