Vines and Climbing Plants of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands

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Vines and Climbing Plants of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands
Public Forests: Carite, El Yunque, Guánica,
Guajataca, Maricao, Río Abajo, Susúa, Toro
Negro, and Tortuguero.
Commentary: In the first edition of this work,
Smilax coriacea was considered a synonym of S.
havanensis Jacq. This error is rectified in this
edition, since the two species are different and
can be distinguished by their pattern of the
venation. The secondary veins on the leaves of S.
coriacea form an angle with the principal vein
that varies from 45º to 90º, while in S. havanensis
the secondary veins form an angle with the
principal vein that varies from 25º to 35º. Smilax
havanensis is found in Cuba and in Hispaniola,
but it is not found in Puerto Rico, nor in the Virgin
Islands.
2. Smilax domingensis Willd, Sp. Pl. 4: 783.
1806.
Fig. 184. G-K
Bejuco de membrillo, Raíz de zarzaparilla,
Zarzaparilla
Slightly woody vine that climbs by means of
tendrils and attains 5-10 m in length. Stems
slender, strong, glabrous, smooth, scarcely
branched. Leaves alternate, simple, chartaceous,
5-12(15) × 2-6.5 cm, ovate, oblong, elliptical, or
broadly elliptical, usually involute, 5-veined, the
apex acuminate, the base obtuse, rounded, or less
frequently subcordate; the margins entire; upper
surface shiny, glabrous; lower surface dull,
glabrous, papillose, with prominent venation;
petioles 1-1.5 cm long, articulated at the apex,
forming a sheath at the base, from which two
simple tendrils are borne, 8-12 cm long.
Inflorescence axillary, umbelliform, solitary.
Flowers greenish, fragrant. Staminate flowers
with pedicels 5-9 mm long; tepals elliptical, 3-
3.5 mm long. Fruit globose, fleshy, ca. 1 cm in
diameter, dark violet or almost black, with a single
seed inside.
Phenology: Flowering from May to August
and fruiting from December to February.
Status: Native, rather common.
Distribution: In moist forests at middle to
upper elevations, along the Cordillera Central and
in the zone of mogotes. Also in the Greater
Antilles, Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize.
Public Forests: Cambalache, El Yunque,
Guajataca, Maricao, Río Abajo, Susúa, and
Tortuguero.
Reference: Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. (in prep.) Smilacaceae. In: Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & M. T. Strong
(eds.) Monocots of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Contrib. U.S. Natl. Herb.