1151.000 Smilax L.

Fayaz, F. (2011) Encyclopedia of Tropical Plants Firefly Books, New Zealand

Description of the genus

Climbing shrubs, less often sub-erect or herbs, usually with short thick rhizomes; stems and branches usually prickly. Leaves often with tendrils; lamina usually ovate to lanceolate; main veins 3-7, connected by a network of cross veins; petiole usually narrowly winged proximally, with an abscission zone between winged portion and apex. Inflorescence borne in axil of leaf or scale-like bract, consisting of 1(-3) umbels, or panicles, racemes, or spikes of umbels; peduncle sometimes with a scale-like prophyll at base. Flowers small; tepals 6, usually free, rarely connate. Fruit a berry, red to black, usually 1- or 2-seeded. Seeds dark brown.

Worldwide: 300 species in tropical and temperate areas

Mozambique: 1 taxon.

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Links to taxa:     View: living plant images - herbarium specimen images - all images for this genus

SpeciesFZ divisionsContent
anceps Willd.N,Z,MS,GI,MDescription, Image

Other sources of information about Smilax:

Our websites:

Flora of Caprivi: cultivated Smilax
Flora of Malawi: Smilax
Flora of Zambia: Smilax
Flora of Zimbabwe: Smilax

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Smilax
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Smilax
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Smilax
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Smilax
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Smilax
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Smilax
JSTOR Plant Science: Smilax
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Smilax
Plants of the World Online: Smilax
Tropicos: Smilax
Wikipedia: Smilax

Copyright: Mark Hyde, Bart Wursten, Petra Ballings and Meg Coates Palgrave 2007-24

Hyde, M.A., Wursten, B.T., Ballings, P. & Coates Palgrave, M. (2024). Flora of Mozambique: Genus page: Smilax.
https://www.mozambiqueflora.com/speciesdata/genus.php?genus_id=361, retrieved 28 March 2024

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