FAMILY: SMILACACEAE
ALTERNATE COMMON NAME: bay leaf smilax
LEAVES: evergreen, simple, alternate, thick and coriaceous (sometimes glaucous), 3 prominent veins; midvein on lower blade surface more prominent than the principal lateral veins; 2-6 inches long, pointed on both ends; oblong and entire; upright angle to stem; short petioles, 1/8 to ¼”
FLOWER: July to November
FRUIT: berries glaucous, becoming shiny black at maturity, clusters of 5-25; peduncle shorter or equal to petioles; fruits mature in second season
STEMS: stems green, those from older rhizomes bearing stout prickles; young growing stem tips green and succulent, smooth
BARK: lower portion of stem is black with many flattened prickles, absent at nodes; cane is finely grooved
FORM: high climbing, stout woody vine with large tuberous rhizomes
HABITAT: older landscapes, NOT on recent alluvium; mainly bayhead swamps, also in Nyssa biflora ponds
WETLAND DESIGNATION: Facultative Wetland (FACW): Usually occurs in wetlands, but may occur in non-wetlands of the Atlantic and Gulf Coast Plain Region
RANGE: southeast US, Gulf and Atlantic Coastal Plains; also Bahamas and Cuba [MAP], [MAP]
USES: ayoung growing shoot tips edible in spring
WILDLIFE: highly preferred deer browse, stems are 5-10% of deer diet; wood ducks, turkey, song birds eat berries
Best Recognition Features:
- high-climbing evergreen vine, stems thick and armed with stout prickles at base
- found mainly in bayhead swamps, also gum ponds – a plant of old landscapes
- leaves thick and coriaceous (sometimes glaucous), oblong, up to 6” long
COMMENTS: This is a difficult genus, with
at least 8 species in Louisiana, and 15 to 20 in the southeast;
21 to 24 species in the US.
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