Smilax
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 Smilax aspera in fruit
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Smilax is a genus of about 300[1]–350[2] species of 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 Catbrier, Greenbrier, Prickly-ivy, Sarsaparilla, Zarzaparrilla, Sarsparilla and Smilax. Occasionally, the non-woody species, like S. herbacea, are placed in the genus Nemexia. Smilax gets its name from the Greek myth Krokus/Crocus and the nymph Smilax.[3] 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.
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[edit] Description
On their own, Smilax plants will grow as a shrub, forming dense impenetrable thickets. They will also grow over trees and other plants up to 10 m high using its hooked thorns to hang on to 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.
[edit] Species
The genus is divided into a number of sections. Section Smilax includes "woody" (being a monocot, members of the Family Smilacacea can not lay down true wood[citation needed]), prickly vines of temperate North America (for example, Smilax glauca and Smilax rotundifolia).[2] Section Coprosmanthus includes unarmed herbaceous plants of temperate North America (for example Smilax herbacea).[2] The genus is found worldwide in tropical and subtropical areas.[2] 39 species are endemic to China.[1]
For a full species list, see list of Smilax species; selected common species include:
Smilax aspera (Common Smilax)
Smilax bona-nox (Saw Greenbrier) (images)
Smilax glauca (Cat Greenbrier) (images)
Smilax herbacea (Carrion flower)
Smilax hispida (Bristly Greenbrier)
Smilax pseudochina (False Chinaroot)
Smilax pulverulenta (Carrion flower)
Smilax regelii (Sarsaparilla)
Smilax rotundifolia (Common Greenbrier)
[edit] Ecology
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 highest percent chance of germinating after being exposed to a freeze.
Besides providing an important fruit for animals (especially birds) during the winter, the greenbrier plant also provides shelter for many other animals. The thorny thickets can effectively protect small animals from other larger animals who cannot enter the greenbrier. Deer will eat the foliage.
[edit] Uses
An extract from the roots of some species are used to make the drink Sarsaparilla. The roots may also be used in soups or stews, the young shoots can be eaten raw or cooked and are said to taste like asparagus, and the berries can be eaten both raw and cooked.
"Rad.Sarzae.Jam.", used medicinally as a cure for gout in Latin American countries, is a powder made from the roots of Jamaican sarsaparilla. The rather unusual name is an old pharmaceutical abbreviation for a Latin phrase meaning, "Root of the Jamaican Brier."
Smilax glabra Roxb. (called tufuling, 土茯苓, in Chinese) is used in Chinese herbology.
Jamaican sarsaparilla also contains at least four phytosterols of the progesterone class, and is therefore recommended by herbalists as a remedy for the symptoms of premenstrual syndrome. It appears to be most effective at alleviating these symptoms in premenopausal women over the age of 35.
[edit] Trivia
- The leaves and berries of Smilax regelii (Sarsaparilla) are favorite foods of the Smurfs, who call the berries "Smurfberries".
- In the RPG video-game Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars the name Smilax refers to a species of Piranha Plant that serves as a boss before entering the Nimbus Land.
- In the 1974 TV series Land of the Lost, Holly often attempted to make smilax cakes resulting in a doughy, gummy, barely edible confection.
- In the 1960 novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Atticus Finch is paid in part with a "crate of smilax and holly".
[edit] References
- ^ a b Smilax. Flora of China. Retrieved on 2008-02-09.
- ^ a b c d Smilax. Flora of North America. Retrieved on 2008-02-04.
- ^ Wild Plants of Malta & Gozo
[edit] External links
Information related to Smilax from Wikispecies.
