WorldFloraDB - Smilax menispermoidea

Characteristics

Vines deciduous, climbing, unarmed. Stem branched, terete, 0.5--3 m, woody. Petiole 5--12 mm, abaxially striate-ridged, narrowly winged for 2/3--3/4 its length; wings apically confluent to petiole; abscission zone apical; tendrils usually present. Leaf blade abaxially glaucous, ovate or elliptic-ovate, 2--6(--10) × 2--5(--7) cm. Inflorescence of 1 umbel, basally not prophyllate; peduncle 2--4 cm; umbels of both sexes 5--15-flowered, base scarcely thickened. Male flowers: tepals purplish red, ca. 2.5 × 1 mm; stamens 0.6--1 mm; filaments basally connate, forming a short column. Female flowers: tepals subequaling male ones; staminodes 6, sometimes antheriferous. Berries purplish black, globose, 7--10 mm in diam. Fl. May--Jun, fr. Oct--Nov.

More

A thorny climber. It has slender wiry stems. The stems are blackish towards the base. They are smooth and the twigs are angular. The leaves have stalks. The leaf stalk is 5-12 mm long and has wings. The leaves are 2-4 cm long and 1.5-3 cm wide. They can be larger. They are broadly oval and taper to the tip. The base is rounded and ends bluntly. The flowers are deep brown. The occur in hanging heads in the axils of leaves. The fruit is a berry. They are round but flattened and black. They are 7-10 mm across. The seeds are pale brown.

Life form

perennial

Growth form

-

Growth support

climber

Foliage retention

Sexuality

dioecy

Pollination

-

Spread

-

Mature width (meter)

-

Mature height (meter)

-

Root system

-

Rooting depth (meter)

-

Root diameter (meter)

-

Flower color

Blooming months

Jan	Feb	Mar
Apr	May	Jun
Jul	Aug	Sep
Oct	Nov	Dec

Fruit color

-

Fruiting months

Jan	Feb	Mar
Apr	May	Jun
Jul	Aug	Sep
Oct	Nov	Dec

Nitrogen fixer

-

Photosynthetic pathway

-

Environment

It is a subtropical plant. In Nepal plants grown between 1600-3400 m altitude. They grow in openings in oak forests. In China it grows in shady places between 2600-3700 m altitude in southern regions. In Sichuan and Yunnan.

Light	-
Soil humidity	-
Soil texture	-
Soil acidity	-
Soil nutriment	-
Hardiness (USDA)

Usage

The tender shoots and leaves are boiled and picled. Ripe fruit are eaten fresh.

Uses	medicinal
Edible	fruits leaves
Therapeutic use	Abscess (rhizome), Anti-poisoning (rhizome), Syphilis (rhizome), Tuberculosis, lymph node (rhizome), Vaginal discharge (rhizome)
Human toxicity	-
Animal toxicity	-

Cultivation

Plants are grown from seed.

Mode	seedlings
Germination duration (days)	-
Germination temperacture (C°)	-
Germination luminosity	-
Germination treatment	-
Minimum temperature (C°)	-
Optimum temperature (C°)	-
Size	-
Vigor	-
Productivity	-

Distribution

Identifiers

LSID	urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:541636-1
WFO ID	wfo-0000742709
COL ID	4XWN2
BDTFX ID	-
INPN ID	-
Wikipedia (EN)
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Smilax menispermoidea Smilax rubriflora Smilax luteocaulis

WorldFloraDB 2024

Smilax menispermoidea A.Dc.

Species