Smilax biltmoreana

Smilax biltmoreana, common name Biltmore's carrionflower,[2] is a North American plant species native to the south-eastern United States. It is concentrated in the Great Smoky Mountains but with outlying populations in Virginia, North and South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, Alabama, and northern Florida.[1][3]

Smilax biltmoreana
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Liliales
Family: Smilacaceae
Genus: Smilax
Species:
S. biltmoreana
Binomial name
Smilax biltmoreana
(Small) J.B.Norton ex Pennell
Synonyms[1]
  • Nemexia biltmoreana Small
  • Smilax ecirrhata var. biltmoreana (Small) H.E.Ahles
  • Smilax ecirrata var. biltmoreana (Small) H.E.Ahles, alternate spelling

Taxonomy

The species epithet biltmoreana refers to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina, once owned by George Washington Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt sponsored a significant number of botanical studies in the American Southeast in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries.[4]

Description

Smilax biltmoreana is a herb with erect stems up to 60 cm (2 feet) tall. Leaves are egg-shaped to heart-shaped, with wax on the underside but no hairs. Flowers are small and greenish, fruits dark blue.[5]

References
  1. Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  2. USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Smilax biltmoreana". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  3. Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
  4. James R. Troyer. 2006. Botany at Biltmore: an unusual case of private support for science. Journal of the North Carolina Academy of Sciences 122:135-141
  5. Flora of North America, Vol. 26 Page 471 Smilax biltmoreana (Small) J. B. Norton ex Pennell
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