Smilax
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Authority
Britton, Nathaniel L. & Millspaugh, Charles F. 1920. The Bahama Flora.
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Family
Smilacaceae
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Scientific Name
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Description
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Description - Rootstoeks usually large and tuberous, stems usually twining, and climbing by means of the coiling appendages of the petiole. Lower leaves reduced to scales. Flowers regular. Perianth-segments distinct, deciduous. Pedicels borne on a globose or conic receptacle, inserted in small pits, generally among minute braetlets. Filaments inserted on the bases of the perianth-segments. Staminate flowers without an ovary. Pistillate flowers usually smaller than the staminate, usually with 1-6 abortive stamens. Berry black, red or purple (rarely white), with 3 strengthening bands of tissue running through the outer part of the pulp, connected at the base and apex. Embryo lying under a tubercle at the upper end of the seed. [Ancient Greek name, perhaps not originally applied to these plants.] About 225 species of wide distribution, most abundant in tropical America and Asia. Type species: Smilax aspera L.