Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Liliales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Smilax laurifolia
FAMILY
Smilacaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
You may also want to check Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina
Learn more from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina website.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Smilax laurifolia
FAMILY
Smilacaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Smilax laurifolia
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 041-02-010:
Smilax laurifolia FAMILY Liliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH The woody Smilaxes of the United States (Coker, 1944)
Smilax laurifolia
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Smilax laurifolia
COMMON NAME:
Bamboo-vine, Blaspheme-vine, Wild Bamboo, Laurel-leaf Greenbriar
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_smla_001_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide pnd_smla_005_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm210209_8714
February Greenville County SC
Blackwell Heritage Preserve
High-climbing, scrambling vine that can form impenetrable thickets. — Patrick McMillan
)
JK Marlow jkm120512_726
May Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
Leaves often rounded to an acute apex, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm220605_8225
June Greenville County SC
Chandler Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm220605_8226
June Greenville County SC
Chandler Heritage Preserve
)
Dan Whitten sdw_060321_02876
June Greenville County SC
Blackwell Heritage Preserve
Prickles of the stem broad-based and awl-like or catclaw-like, green brown or black, per Weakley's Flora (2012).
)
Dan Whitten sdw_060321_02877
June Greenville County SC
Blackwell Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm110814_234
August Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm110814_237
August Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm210813_2738
August Greenville County SC
Blackwell Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow s070920_a
September Pickens County SC
Poe Creek State Forest
Leaves coriaceous, oblong or oblong-lanceolate to oblong-linear, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm141025_293
October Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
Midvein below much more pronounced than the principal lateral veins, per Weakley's Flora (2012).
)
JK Marlow jkm141025_298
October Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
)
Patrick D. McMillan pdmslaurifolia_oceanbay3
Month Unknown Horry County SC
Lewis Ocean Bay Heritage Preserve
Leaves 2-4" long, leathery, green to yellowish-green above. — Patrick McMillan
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Smilax laurifolia
FAMILY
Smilacaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Smilax laurifolia
FAMILY
Smilacaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Smilax laurifolia
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 041-02-010:
Smilax laurifolia
FAMILY
Liliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
The woody Smilaxes of the United States (Coker, 1944)
Smilax laurifolia
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Smilax laurifolia
1400
Climbing woody vine
Perennial
Dioecious
Habitat: pocosins, swamp forests, wooded seeps and bogs, swamps, and other wetlands, often with groundwater influence, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common in Coastal Plain (rare elsewhere in GA-NC-SC)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
IS THE PLANT "ARMED"?
Stems usually viciously armed with stout prickles almost 1cm long
LEAVES:
Evergreen
Simple
Alternate
RHIZOMES? STOLONS?
Rhizomatous
FLOWER:
Summer
Yellowish-green
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!
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p102
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p418
- How to Recognize Shrubs (Grimm, 1966) p075
- Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989) p052
- Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry (Porcher, 1995) p119
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p017
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p419
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance) p20
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p330
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011) p196
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011) p172
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".