roundleaf greenbrier

(Smilax rotundifolia)

Conservation Status
roundleaf greenbrier
 
  IUCN Red List

not listed

     
  NatureServe

N5 - Secure

SNR - Unranked

     
  Minnesota

not listed

     
           
Wetland Indicator Status
     
  Great Plains

FAC - Facultative

     
  Midwest

FAC - Facultative

     
  Northcentral & Northeast

FAC - Facultative

     
           
 
Description
 
 

Roundleaf greenbrier is a climbing, perennial, woody vine that rises on a single or multiple stems from a linear rhizome.

The stems are slender, green, woody, hairless, branching, and up to 20 long. They are usually 4-angled, sometimes round. They are armed with stout, flattened, up to ½ long prickles. The prickles are green with a black tip.

The leaves are alternate and deciduous. They are evenly distributed along the vine. They are on 3 16 to long leaf stalks. The leaf stalks are shorter than the leaf blades. There is a pair of up tendrils at the base of many of the leaf stalks. The leaf blades are broadly egg-shaped to nearly circular, 1½ to 6¾ long, and 1½ to 6¼ wide. They are heart-shaped to rounded at the base and rounded at the tip with a short, sharp, abrupt point at the tip. The upper surface is bright green, shiny, and hairless. The lower surface is the same color as the upper surface, hairless, and sometimes shiny. The lower surface is not covered with a whitish, waxy bloom (glaucous). There are 3, 5, or 7 conspicuous main veins that arch from the base of the leaf blade and converge toward the tip. The main veins are impressed on the upper surface, raised on the lower surface. The margin is not thickened, lobed, or toothed, but may have a few scattered, minute, tooth-like projections.

The inflorescence is an globe-shaped, 1½ in diameter, umbrella-like cluster (umbel) of 5 to 12, sometimes more, flowers rising from the leaf axils. The umbel is on a stalk that is up to long, shorter to slightly longer than the subtending leaf stalk.

Male and female flowers are borne on separate plants. There are 3 greenish-yellow, strap-shaped petals and 3 similar sepals (6 tepals). The male flowers have 6 stamens with yellow anthers. They appear in late May to late June.

The fruit is a glaucous, bluish-black to black, globular berry, ¼ to in diameter.

 
     
 

Height

 
 

Up to 20

 
     
 

Flower Color

 
 

Greenish-yellow

 
     
 

Similar Species

 
 

Bristly greenbrier (Smilax tamnoides) has flexible, needle-like prickles. The fruit is not glaucous.

 
     
 
Habitat
 
 

Woodland openings, thickets, roadsides.

 
     
 
Ecology
 
 

Flowering

 
 

May to June

 
     
 

Pests and Diseases

 
 

 

 
     
 
Use
 
 

 

 
     
 
Distribution
 
 

Distribution Map

 

Sources

2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 29, 30.

Roundleaf greenbrier does not occur in Minnesota outside of cultivation. USDA PLANTS and GRIN show the species as native to Minnesota but with no county records. The Darlene and William Radichel Herbarium, Minnesota State University Mankato, has a single specimen. However, no date or location for the specimen is given, and no other records can be found. The map at left shows its presence in Carver County at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, where the photographs on this page were taken.

 
  4/26/2021    
       
       
 

Nativity

 
 

Naitve to northeastern, southeastern, north-central, and south-central United States, and to eastern Canada.

 
         
 

Occurrence

 
 

Not present in Minnesota

 
         
 
Taxonomy
 
  Kingdom Plantae (green algae and land plants)  
  Subkingdom Viridiplantae (green plants)  
  Infrakingdom Streptophyta (land plants and green algae)  
  Superdivision Embryophyta (land plants)  
  Division Tracheophyta (vascular plants)  
  Subdivision Spermatophytina (seed plants)  
  Class Liliopsida (monocots)  
 

Order

Liliales (lilies, supplejacks, and allies)  
 

Family

Smilacaceae (greenbrier)  
 

Genus

Smilax (greenbriars)  
       
 

Synonyms

 
 

Smilax rotundifolia var. crenulata

Smilax rotundifolia var. quadrangularis

 
       
 

Common Names

 
 

bullbrier

common catbriar

common greenbrier

greenbrier

horsebriar

roundleaf greenbriar

roundleaf greenbrier

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glossary

Axil

The upper angle where a branch, stem, leaf stalk, or vein diverges.

 

Glaucous

Pale green or bluish gray due to a whitish, powdery or waxy film, as on a plum or a grape.

 

Linear

Long, straight, and narrow, with more or less parallel sides, like a blade of grass.

 

Rhizome

A horizontal, usually underground stem. It serves as a reproductive structure, producing roots below and shoots above at the nodes.

 

Sepal

An outer floral leaf, usually green but sometimes colored, at the base of a flower.

 

Tepal

Refers to both the petals and the sepals of a flower when they are similar in appearance and difficult to tell apart. Tepals are common in lilies and tulips.

 

Umbel

A flat-topped or convex, umbrella-shaped cluster of flowers or buds arising from more or less a single point.

 
 
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    roundleaf greenbrier   roundleaf greenbrier  

 

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Other Videos
 
  Wild Edibles - The Common Greenbrier
The Backwoodsman's Institute
 
   
 
About

Uploaded on Apr 21, 2010

The Backwoodsman's Institute presents: Wild Edibles - The Common Greenbrier. In this video, Scott shares with you yet another wild edible, the common greenbrier. This edible you can eat raw right off the stem.

   

 

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