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Smilax
Also called Greenbriar, Common Greenbriar, Carrionflower, Catbrier, Sarsaparilla, Greenbriers, Carrionflowers
Smilax is a genus of about 300 to 350 mostly climbing, often thorny vines and shrubs in the Smilacaceae family, native to tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. Commonly grown members are fairly tough climbers that need room to scramble and enough light to fruit.
Smilax is a genus of about 300–350 species, found in the tropics and subtropics worldwide. They are climbing flowering plants, many of which are woody and/or thorny, in the monocotyledon family Smilacaceae, native throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the world.
Common names include catbriers, greenbriers, prickly-ivys and smilaxes. Sarsaparilla (also zarzaparrilla, sarsparilla) is a name used specifically for the Neotropical S. ornata as well as a catch-all term in particular for American species. Occasionally, the non-woody species such as the smooth herbaceous greenbrier (S. herbacea) are separated as genus Nemexia; they are commonly known by the rather ambiguous name carrion flowers.
The genus has a pantropical distribution, extending into adjacent temperate zones to north and south. 29 species are recognized in Central America and the Caribbean, while there are 20 species in North America north of Mexico. In China, there are 80 species (39 of which are endemic).
An extract from the roots of some species – most significantly Jamaican sarsaparilla (S. ornata) – is used to make the sarsaparilla drink and other root beers, as well as herbal drinks like the popular Baba Roots from Jamaica. Two species, S. domingensis and S. havanensis, are used in a traditional soda-like Cuban beverage called pru. The roots may also be used in soups or stews. The young shoots can be eaten raw or cooked and are said to taste like asparagus, and the berries can be eaten both raw and cooked. Stuffed smilax pancake, or fúlíng jiābǐng (simplified Chinese: 茯苓夹饼; traditional Chinese: 茯苓夾餅), is a traditional snack from the Beijing region. S. glabra is used in Chinese herbology. It is also a key ingredient in the Chinese medical dessert guīlínggāo, which makes use of its property to set certain kinds of jelly.
Sarsaparilla · Austral Sarsaparilla · Chinese Smilax · Smilax glyciphylla · Laurel greenbrier · Smilax moranensis · Smilax officinalis · Jamaica sarsaparilla · Roundleaf greenbrier
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Smilax by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Pet safety from the ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists.
