Common Name: Cat Greenbrier

General Information

Smilax glauca is a climbing shrub growing from a tuberous rootstock; it produces a cluster of weakly prickly, branching stems that can be 5 metres or more long. The plant often forms a tangled, impassable thicket. Usually deciduous in the north of its range, it becomes semi-evergreen to evergreen towards the south[].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and a medicine.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

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Range

South-eastern N. America - Oklahoma, through Indiana to Connecticut, south to eastern Texas and Florida

Habitat

Dry to wet woods, thickets, hedge- rows, roadsides; at elevations from sea level to 800 metres[]. Dry to moist sandy thickets, open woods and fields[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Habit	Semi-deciduous Climber
Height	5.00 m
Self-fertile	No
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Smilax glauca is hardy to at least -20°c[].
Succeeds in most soils in sun or semi-shade[].
A vigorous plant, it can be grown through trees or shrubs or over tree stumps[].
A dioecious species - both male and female forms must be grown if fruit and seed are required.

Edible Uses

Root - cooked[, ]. It can be boiled and made into a jelly or dried and ground into a powder then used with cereals when making bread etc[, , ].

Young shoots in spring - raw or cooked[].

Medicinal

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

A tea made from the leaves and stems has been used in the treatment of rheumatism and stomach problems[].
The wilted leaves are applied as a poultice to boils[, ].

A tea made from the roots is used to help the expelling of afterbirth[].
Reports that the roots contain the hormone testosterone have not been confirmed, they might contain steroid precursors, however[].

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[].