Common Name:

General Information

Smilax glabra is a deciduous climbing shrub producing a clump of unarmed, branched stems from a tuberous rhizome; the stems can be 1 - 4 metres long. The plant grows into the surrounding vegetation, supporting itself by means of tendrils[].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and a medicine. It is harvested from the wild in large quantities for medicinal use, the tubers being traded[, ].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

,

Range

E. Asia - China, northeast India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam

Habitat

Thickets in uplands, W. China[, ]. Forests, thickets, thinly forested slopes along valleys, river banks at elevations of 300 - 1800 metres[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Habit	Deciduous Climber
Height	3.00 m
Self-fertile	No
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Succeeds in most soils in sun or semi-shade[].
A dioecious species - both male and female forms must be grown if fruit and seed are required.

Edible Uses

Root - cooked[, ]. It can be dried and ground into a powder. The root contains nearly 70% starch[].

Fruit[]. The fruit is up to 10mm in diameter[]. No more details are given.

Medicinal

The aerial tubers are used in the treatment of abscesses, boils, cystitis, diarrhoea etc[].

The rhizome is antiallergic, antiarthritic, antiscrophulatic, demulcent, depurative, diaphoretic, diuretic, skin, stomachic[, , , ]. It has been used in the treatment of cancer, mercury poisoning, acute bacterial dysentery, rheumatoid arthritis, impetigo. Furunculosis, phlegmon, psoriasis. Rheumatism, osteodynia and syphilis[, , , , , ]. It is said to be clinically 90% effective in the treatment of primary syphilis[].

The tuberous roots can be dug up all the year round, but preferably in the summer. They are dried before use[].

The active principles are probably saponisides[].
The tuberous roots contain beta-sitosterol, stigmasterol and saponins[].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed - sow early spring in a warm greenhouse[]. 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[]. 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[]. 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[]. 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[].