Smilax bona-nox L.

Greenbrier

© SRTurner

Family - Smilacaceae

Habit - Rhizomatous perennial vine, dioecious.

Stems - To 8 m, woody, climbing, glabrous or with stellate hairs, armed with spines.

	Stem and tendrils.
© SRTurner

	Stem and spines.
© SRTurner

Leaves - Alternate, numerous, to 11 cm long, simple. Petioles shorter than leaf blades, often with tendrils present. Leaf blades broadly ovate, at least some usually fiddle-shaped, the margins thickened, often with sparse white, spinelike projections, otherwise entire, the undersurface not much paler than the upper surface, glabrous, the network of smaller veins raised and thickened on the undersurface.

	Leaf.
© SRTurner

	Leaf adaxial.
© SRTurner

	Leaf abaxial.
© SRTurner

	Leaves. Although fiddle-shaped leaves are more distinctive, plants will usually bear some leaves such as these which lack the lobed shape.
© SRTurner

	Leaf abaxial surface, showing reticulate network of vasculature. This leaf had partially dried out, which probably accentuates the pattern's visibility.
© SRTurner

	Stipular flanges on petiole. These are not always present.
© SRTurner

Inflorescences - Axillary umbels in upper leaves, the peduncle 1-5 times as long as the petiole of the subtending leaf. Umbels mostly with 8-20 flowers.

	Inflorescences.
© SRTurner

	Inflorescence (staminate).
© SRTurner

Flowers - Flowers with 6 tepals in 2 series, these 3-5 mm long, green to yellowish green. Staminate flowers with 6 stamens, these free or fused at the filament bases. Pistillate flowers with 1 superior ovary with 3 locules, the style absent or very short, the stigmas 1 or 3, spreading.

	Staminate flowers.
© SRTurner

Fruits - Berries, 6-8 mm in diameter, black, usually not glaucous.

Flowering - May - June.

Habitat - Forests, edges of bluffs and glades, fencerows, old fields, often climbing in thickets.

Origin - Native to the U.S.

Other info. - This vine is found throughout the southern third of the state. Species of Smilax can be difficult to identify reliably. A good indicator for S. bona-nox is the presence of at least a few strongly fiddle-shaped leaves, often with mottling on the upper surface. The stems are armed with sharp spines, though these are sometimes sparse.

Photographs taken at Allred Lake Natural Area, Butler County, MO, 5-19-2014, near Tecumseh, Ozark County, MO, 7-2-2020, Gist Ranch Conservation Area, Texas County, MO, 6-9-2022, and near Blue Spring, Shannon County, MO, 5-18-2023 (SRTurner).