Smilax biltmoreana

Smilax biltmoreana, common name Biltmore's carrionflower,[2] is a North American plant species native to the southeastern 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
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

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.[4]

The species epiteet 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.[5]

References
  1. Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  2. "Smilax biltmoreana". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  3. Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
  4. Flora of North America, Vol. 26 Page 471 Smilax biltmoreana (Small) J. B. Norton ex Pennell
  5. 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
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