BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Smilax bona-nox | Saw Greenbrier 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Saw greenbrier is a native, evergreen [8] to semievergreen [16] or
deciduous [7], rhizomatous vine up to 26 feet (8 m) in length [12].  The
quadrate stems and branches have scattered to numerous stiff prickles
[7,12].  There are two forms of rhizomes: ligneous, thickened, knotty
tubers 0.8 to 2.4 inches (2-6 cm) thick in clusters up to 7.9 inches (20
cm) across [23], and more slender rhizomes which give rise to the erect
stems [7,12,16,23].  The inflorescence is an umbel borne on an axillary
peduncle.  The fruit is a one-seeded drupe [30].


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Phanerophyte
   Geophyte


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Saw greenbrier reproduces by seed and by rhizomes.  The seeds are
animal dispersed and can be carried long distances by birds [8].


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Saw greenbrier occurs in a variety of habitats, including dry and wet
woods, thickets, and hammocks, and disturbed sites such as clearings,
roadsides, fencerows, and old fields.  It tolerates a wide variety of
soils, including dry to moist sands, rocky soils, rich loams, and
saturated swamp soils high in organic matter [7,10,12,16,34,41].


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
Facultative Seral Species

Saw greenbrier is often found in early seres and disturbed sites.  It is
listed with other plants characterized as early arrivals following
disturbance [8].  In sand dune succession of barrier islands off North
Carolina, several vines successively colonize inland dunes: Virginia
creeper, eastern poison-ivy, and saw greenbrier [2].  Saw greenbrier was
reported from years 0 to 10 in oldfield succession in Georgia, but was
not discussed for later stages and the authors implied that the early
colonizers were crowded out by Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica)
and other species [27].  Saw greenbrier was the most widely distributed
and abundant vine on a 3-year-old gravel pit in eastern Texas.  It was
present in successively lower numbers on a 5-year-old gravel pit, a
47-year-old gravel pit, and the adjacent unexcavated forest [44].

In Kansas, loss of American elms (Ulmus americana) to Dutch elm disease
further opened an already open canopy and created conditions where cover
values of woody and weedy species increased, including that of saw
greenbrier [13].

In Florida, saw greenbrier occurred in a stand composed of large, old
trees (mostly laurel oak [Quercus laurifolia], pignut hickory [Carya
glabra], and magnolia [Magnolia grandiflora]) with no evidence of past
fire, logging, or grazing [8].


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
Saw greenbrier flowers from April to May [17,19,30], April to June [41],
or May to July [7] depending on latitude.  The fruit ripens from
September to October, persisting on the vine through the winter [7,19,34].

Related categories for Species: Smilax bona-nox | Saw Greenbrier