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Vascular Plants of California
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Smilax jamesii
ENGLISH PEAK GREENBRIER


Higher Taxonomy
Family: SmilacaceaeView Description 
Common Name: SMILAX FAMILY
Habit: [Perennial herb, shrub] vine, from rhizomes, stolons, or caudices, dioecious. Stem: erect or climbing, generally prickly, scaly below, leafy above. Leaf: simple, opposite or alternate, veins net-like between generally 3 stronger veins; petioles generally with 2+ tendrils near base. Inflorescence: generally umbel [raceme, spike]. Flower: perianth parts 6, in 2 petal-like whorls, free [rarely united], stamens 6, free (as staminodes in pistillate flowers); ovary superior, chambers 2 or 3, style +- 0, stigmas 3, (pistils 0 or reduced, sterile in staminate flowers). Fruit: berry, black, purple, blue, red [orange] (white). Seed: 1--2/chamber.
Genera In Family: 4(12) genera, 375 species: temperate, tropics.
eFlora Treatment Author: Dale W. McNeal
Scientific Editor: Thomas J. Rosatti.
Genus: SmilaxView DescriptionDichotomous Key


Common Name: GREENBRIER
Habit: Perennial herb; caudex generally large, tuber-like. Stem: climbing or trailing, woody below or not, often prickly +- throughout. Leaf: alternate, deciduous or persistent; base rounded to sagittate; petiole tendrils generally 2. Inflorescence: umbels or clusters, axillary. Flower: perianth parts white to +- green or +- yellow; ovary chambers generally 3, stigmas spreading. Fruit: black, purple, blue, or red (white). Seed: 1--6, black.
Etymology: (Greek: origin uncertain)
Reference: Cameron & Fu 2006 Aliso 22:598--605
Unabridged Reference: Cameron, K. M. & C. Fu. 2006. A nuclear rDNA phylogeny of Smilax (Smilacaceae). Aliso 22:598--605
Smilax jamesii G.A. Wallace
NATIVE
Habit: Vine; rhizome long, +- zigzag. Stem: 2--3 m, herbaceous; central pith present. Leaf: 5--8 cm, triangular to +- ovate, acute or rigid-tipped, adaxially dark green, abaxially glaucous, minutely papillate, base truncate to +- cordate. Inflorescence: staminate generally < 20-flowered; pistillate generally < 40-flowered; peduncles 5--13.5 cm, stout, +- erect. Flower: perianth parts +- 1.5 mm wide, spreading or reflexed, elliptic to oblong. Fruit: 6--8 mm, dark blue (drying dull maroon). Seed: 6.
Ecology: Lakesides, streambanks, alder thickets in montane conifer forest; Elevation: generally 1500--2500 m. Bioregional Distribution: KR, CaR. Flowering Time: May--Jul Note: Only herbaceous sp. in western North America; member of Smilax herbacea L. complex, otherwise of eastern North America.
Jepson eFlora Author: Dale W. McNeal
Reference: Cameron & Fu 2006 Aliso 22:598--605
Index of California Plant Names (ICPN; linked via the Jepson Online Interchange)
Listed on CNPS Rare Plant Inventory

Previous taxon: Smilax californica
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Botanical illustration including Smilax jamesii

botanical illustration including Smilax jamesii

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Citation for this treatment: Dale W. McNeal 2012, Smilax jamesii, in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=44795, accessed on April 19, 2024.

Citation for the whole project: Jepson Flora Project (eds.) 2024, Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/, accessed on April 19, 2024.

Smilax jamesii
click for enlargement
©2010 Neal Kramer
Smilax jamesii
click for enlargement
©2015 Steve Matson
Smilax jamesii
click for enlargement
©2010 Neal Kramer
Smilax jamesii
click for enlargement
©2015 Steve Matson
Smilax jamesii
click for enlargement
©2015 Steve Matson

More photos of Smilax jamesii
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Geographic subdivisions for Smilax jamesii:
KR, CaR.
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map of distribution 1
(Note: any qualifiers in the taxon distribution description, such as 'northern', 'southern', 'adjacent' etc., are not reflected in the map above, and in some cases indication of a taxon in a subdivision is based on a single collection or author-verified occurence).





 

Data provided by the participants of the  Consortium of California Herbaria.
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All markers link to CCH specimen records. The original determination is shown in the popup window.
Blue markers indicate specimens that map to one of the expected Jepson geographic subdivisions (see left map). Purple markers indicate specimens collected from a garden, greenhouse, or other non-wild location.
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CCH collections by month

Duplicates counted once; synonyms included.
Species do not include records of infraspecific taxa, if there are more than 1 infraspecific taxon in CA.
Blue line denotes eFlora flowering time (fruiting time in some monocot genera).