OF THE CAROLINAS & GEORGIA

Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Liliales

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Smilax glauca   FAMILY Smilacaceae   Go to FSUS key



SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Smilax glauca   FAMILY Smilacaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)

Smilax glauca

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America

Smilax glauca

INCLUDING Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)

Smilax glauca var. glauca

INCLUDING Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)

Smilax glauca var. leurophylla

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 041-02-007:

Smilax glauca   FAMILY Liliaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH The woody Smilaxes of the United States (Coker, 1944)

Smilax glauca

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)

Smilax glauca

 

COMMON NAME:
Whiteleaf Greenbrier, Wild Sarsaparilla, Sawbrier


         To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.

image of Smilax glauca, Whiteleaf Greenbrier, Wild Sarsaparilla, Sawbrier

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913    pnd_smgl_001_lvd

        

image of Smilax glauca, Whiteleaf Greenbrier, Wild Sarsaparilla, Sawbrier

JK Marlow    jkm0401c_05

January    Pickens County    SC

Roadside

Climbing or scrambling woody vine with thorns, 2-20m long, per Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005).

image of Smilax glauca, Whiteleaf Greenbrier, Wild Sarsaparilla, Sawbrier

JK Marlow    jkm0401c_06

January    Pickens County    SC

Roadside

SC's only species of Smilax with leaves whitish beneath, per Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001).

image of Smilax glauca, Whiteleaf Greenbrier, Wild Sarsaparilla, Sawbrier

JK Marlow    jkm200602_5579

June    Spartanburg County    SC

Lower stem often bristly. Leaves often variegated with lighter green above, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).

image of Smilax glauca, Whiteleaf Greenbrier, Wild Sarsaparilla, Sawbrier

JK Marlow    jkm071020_050

October    Greenville County    SC

Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area

image of Smilax glauca, Whiteleaf Greenbrier, Wild Sarsaparilla, Sawbrier

Patrick D. McMillan    pdmsglauca_0

October        

image of Smilax glauca, Whiteleaf Greenbrier, Wild Sarsaparilla, Sawbrier

JK Marlow    snm151030_smilax1_227e

October    Greenville County    SC

Blue Wall Preserve

 

 

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Smilax glauca   FAMILY Smilacaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Smilax glauca   FAMILY Smilacaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Smilax glauca

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Smilax glauca

INCLUDING Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Smilax glauca var. glauca

INCLUDING Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Smilax glauca var. leurophylla

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 041-02-007:
Smilax glauca   FAMILY Liliaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH The woody Smilaxes of the United States (Coker, 1944)
Smilax glauca

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Smilax glauca

 

Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME:

1398

Woody vine
Perennial
Dioecious

Habitat: Dry to mesic forests and woodlands, bottomland and riparian forests, bluffs, hardwood flatwoods, pine flatwoods, prairies, old fields, fencerows, pastures, roadsides; uncommon in wetlands, per Weakley's Flora

Native to the Carolinas & Georgia

Common

map
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.

IS THE PLANT "ARMED"?
Stems usually armed with broadbased prickles

LEAVES:
Partially evergreen
Simple
Alternate

FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Yellowish/Brownish
Radially symmetrical
6 tepals
6 stamens in staminate flowers
Superior ovary
Unisexual

Flowers in axillary umbels

FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Bluish-black
Berry

 

TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!



 


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