Smilax bona-nox

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Smilax bona-nox
Light:Full Sun Part Shade
Moisture:Mesic
Soil pH:5.6-8.4
Cross Pollinated
Height:20'
Blooms:Early Summer
Open Woods Forest
Native to:
Edible Rating:PFAF Edibility RatingPFAF Edibility RatingPFAF Edibility RatingPFAF Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating:PFAF Medicinal RatingPFAF Medicinal RatingPFAF Medicinal RatingPFAF Medicinal Rating
Tea:Yes
Poisonous

Smilax bona-nox (common name: greenbriar)

Propagation: Seed - sow March in a warm greenhouse[1]. This note probably refers to the tropical members of the genus, seeds of plants from cooler areas seem to require a period of cold stratification, some species taking 2 or more years to germinate[K]. We sow the seed of temperate species in a cold frame as soon as we receive it, and would sow the seed as soon as it is ripe if we could obtain it then[K]. When the seedlings eventually germinate, prick them out into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first year, though we normally grow them on in pots for 2 years. Plant them out into their permanent positions in early summer.

Division in early spring as new growth begins[2]. Larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found it best to pot up the smaller divisions and grow them on in a lightly shaded position in a cold frame, planting them out once they are well established in the summer.

Cuttings of half-ripe shoots, July in a frame[2].

Cultivation: Succeeds in most soils in sun or semi-shade[3].

Dioecious. Male and female plants must be grown if seed is required.

Range: South-eastern N. America - Virginia to Kentucky, Kansas, Florida, Texas and Mexico.

Habitat: Dry to moist soils, sand dunes, fields, clearings and thickets[4].

Edibility: Root - cooked[5][6][7][8]. It can be dried and ground into a powder[9][10][11]. The root can be made into a gelatine[7]. The root contains a pectin-like substance[12].

Young shoots - raw or cooked[7][10][12].

Fruit - raw. A rubbery texture, it is chewed[13] (and chewed and chewed presumably![K]) Produced in umbels of up to 20 fruits, each fruit is about 5mm in diameter[14].

Medicinal: The root is diuretic. It is used in the treatment of dropsy and urinary complaints[15][16]. A tea made from the roots is used to help the expelling of afterbirth[17]. Reports that the roots contain the hormone testosterone have not been confirmed, they might contain steroid precursors, however[17].

The stem prickles have been rubbed on the skin as a counter-irritant to relieve localised pains, muscle cramps and twitching[17].

A tea made from the leaves and stems has been used as a general tonic and also in the treatment of rheumatism and stomach problems[17][16].

The wilted leaves are applied as a poultice to boils[17].

Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.

Flower Type: Dioecious

Links

References

  1. ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Bown, Deni. Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopaedia of Herbs and Their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, 1995.
  3. ↑ Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
  4. ↑ Lyndon, Merritt. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co, 1950.
  5. ↑ Douglas, James. Alternative Foods.
  6. ↑ Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Elias, Thomas. A Field Guide to North American Edible Wild Plants. Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1982.
  8. ↑ Yanovsky, Elias. Food Plants of the North American Indians Publication 237. US Department of Agriculture.
  9. ↑ Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Kavasch, Barrie. Native Harvests. Vintage Books, 1979.
  11. ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 McPherson, Alan and Sue McPherson. Wild Food Plants of Indiana. Indiana University Press, 1977.
  13. ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
  14. ↑ Britton, Nathaniel and Addison Brown. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada. Dover Publications, 1970.
  15. ↑ Pesman, M. Meet Flora Mexicana. Dale S King, 1962.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 Foster, Steven and Billy Tatum. Medicinal Plants of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin, 1990.


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