Carrion Flower, Smooth carrionflower
Smilax herbacea

Family: Smilacaceae

What it is like

Smilax herbacea is a PERENNIAL CLIMBER growing to 2.5 m (8ft 2in). See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 4. It is in flower from May to June. The species is dioecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but only one sex is to be found on any one plant so both male and female plants must be grown if seed is required). . The plant is not self-fertile. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist soil.

Height (m): 2.5

Where it is found

Open woodlands, meadows and rich alluvial thickets. Higher elevations in rich woods, alluvial thickets, and meadows, often in calcareous soils at elevations of 100--800 metres.

Eastern N. America - southwards from Quebec.

Conservation Status:

Countries/locations it is found in

How it is used

Food

Rating: 4

Leaves and young shoots - raw or cooked and used like asparagus. A delicate and palatable vegetable. Fruit - raw or cooked and used in jellies etc. It should only be used when fully ripe. A pleasant flavour. The fruit is about 10mm in diameter. Root - cooked. It can be dried, ground into a powder and then used with cereals for making bread etc. It can also be used as a gelatine substitute.

Root: includes bulbs, corms, tubers, rhizomes etc.

Gelatine: substitutes that is.

Medicine

Rating: 1

Eating the fruit is said to be effective in treating hoarseness. The parched and powdered leaves have been used as a dressing on burns. The wilted leaves have been used as a dressing on boils. The root is analgesic. A decoction has been used in the treatment of back pains, stomach complaints, lung disorders and kidney problems.

Analgesic: Relieves pain.

Antiaphonic: Restores the voice.

Kidney: Used in the treatment of kidney diseases

Pectoral: Relieves respiratory diseases, a remedy for chest diseases.

Poultice: A moist, usually warm or hot, mass of plant material applied to the skin in the treatment of burns etc.

Salve: Soothes and heals damaged skin.

Other

Rating: 2

Food Forest: Plants for Edible Forest Gardens and Food Forests.

Scented Plants: Plants noted for their scent

How it is grown

Succeeds in most soils in sun or semi-shade. Hardy to about -20°c. A polymorphic species, varying in both leaf shape and growth habit. The flowers are malodorous, they smell like dead rats. A vigorous plant, it can be grown through trees or shrubs or over tree stumps. The sub-species S. herbacea nipponicum is used in Japan. This report probably refers to the species S. nipponica. Dioecious. Male and female plants must be grown if seed is required. For polyculture design as well as the above-ground architecture (form - tree, shrub etc. and size shown above) information on the habit and root pattern is also useful and given here if available. Growth habit is a single or multiple shooting vine from a crown. Herbaceous.

Propagating it: Seed - sow March 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.

Best place to grow: Woodland Garden Sunny Edge; Dappled Shade;

Habit: Perennial Climber

Hardiness: 4-8

Growth:

Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)

Shade: Semi-shade, no shade

Moisture: Moist

Things to keep in mind

Its other names

Local names

Synonyms

Nemexia herbacea (L.) Small