dwarf greenbrier
Smilax pumila
  • FAMILY: SMILACAEAE
  • ALTERNATE COMMON NAME: sarsparilla
  • LEAVES: deciduous to persistent; entire margin; thin, lustrous upper, sparingly pubescent lower; 3-5 prominent reddish veins with dense gray and brown hairs; tendrils on pedicles
  • FLOWER: yellowish-green; May
  • FRUIT: red to orange; 1/5 to 1/3 inch in spring; persistent
  • TWIGS:
  • BARK:
  • FORM: weak, slender, unarmed vine (thornless); creeping; single or paired tendrils at nodes
  • HABITAT: open sandy woods
  • WETLAND DESIGNATION: Obligate Upland (UPL): Almost never occurs in wetlands of the Atlantic and Gulf Coast Plain Region
  • RANGE: east Texas, to Florida, Arkansas, South Carolina
  • USES: quail and turkey eat seed; deer browse all species of Smilax except for this one
  • Best Recognition Features:
    1. pubescent underside
    2. unarmed
    3. usually not climbing