Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Liliales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Smilax herbacea
FAMILY
Smilacaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Learn more from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina website.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Smilax herbacea
FAMILY
Smilacaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Smilax herbacea
INCLUDED WITHIN Phylogeography of North American herbaceous Smilax (Smilacaceae) (Li et al., 2013)
Smilax herbacea
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 041-02-002a:
Smilax herbacea var. herbacea FAMILY Liliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Nemexia herbacea
COMMON NAME:
Common Carrionflower, Smooth Carrionflower
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_smhe_001_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm0505k_15
May Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
)
JK Marlow jkm120505_053
May Rabun County GA
Chattahoochee National Forest
Leaf bases cordate, margins convex in outline, per Weakley's Flora.
)
JK Marlow jkm140519_921
May Jackson County NC
Big Ridge Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm150508_966c
May Union County GA
)
JK Marlow jkm150508_970
May Union County GA
)
JK Marlow jkm0406i_22
June Macon County NC
Nantahala National Forest: Wayah Bald
Peduncles 5-8x long as the subtending petioles, per Weakley's Flora.
)
JK Marlow jkm0406i_23
June Macon County NC
Nantahala National Forest: Wayah Bald
Flowers in axillary umbels, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm090607_005b
June Haywood County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Sepals, petals, and carpels 3; stamens 6, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm090607_009
June Haywood County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Tendrils present and numerous, per Weakley's Flora.
)
JK Marlow jkm200606_5702
June Haywood County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm060805_412
August Haywood County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm060805_423
August Haywood County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm060805_428
August Haywood County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm060805_429
August Haywood County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm060813_177
August Haywood County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Stem herbaceous, lacking prickles. Plant vine-like, climbing or sprawling, per Weakley's Flora.
)
JK Marlow jkm060813_181
August Haywood County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm060813_187
August Haywood County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm0509j_05
September Transylvania County NC
Silver Run Preserve
)
Ron Lance rwl_smilaxherbacea
September Jackson County NC
Fruit dark blue and glaucous, per Weakley's Flora.
)
JK Marlow jkm111008_862
October Jackson County NC
Balsam Mountain Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm111008_890
October Jackson County NC
Balsam Mountain Preserve
Smilax herbacea at the bottom left; Dioscorea on the upper right.
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Smilax herbacea
FAMILY
Smilacaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Smilax herbacea
FAMILY
Smilacaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Smilax herbacea
INCLUDED WITHIN
Phylogeography of North American herbaceous Smilax (Smilacaceae) (Li et al., 2013)
Smilax herbacea
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 041-02-002a:
Smilax herbacea var. herbacea
FAMILY
Liliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Nemexia herbacea
1399
Herbaceous vine (with tendrils)
Perennial
Dioecious
Habitat: Moist deciduous forests, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common (rare in Coastal Plain)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)
LEAVES:
Simple
Alternate
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Yellowish-green
Radially symmetrical
6 tepals
6 stamens in staminate flowers
Superior ovary
Unisexual
Flowers in spherical umbels from leaf axils
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Black
Berry
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p348
- Field Guide to the Rare Plants of Georgia (Chafin, 2007) p107
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p016
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p418
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p383
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p439
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p440
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p017
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
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Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".
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