Cat Greenbrier
Smilax glauca
Family: Smilacaceae
What it is like
Smilax glauca is an evergreen Climber growing to 5 m (16ft 5in). See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 4. It is in leaf all year, in flower in 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 dry or moist soil.
Height (m): 5
Where it is found
Dry to moist sandy thickets, open woods and fields. Dry to wet woods, thickets, hedge- rows, roadsides from sea level to 800 metres.
South-eastern N. America - New England to Florida, west to Texas and Indiana.
Conservation Status:
Countries/locations it is found in
How it is used
Food
Rating: 2
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.
Root: includes bulbs, corms, tubers, rhizomes etc.
Medicine
Rating: 2
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.
Birthing aid: Used in facilitating birth, but not just to cause uterine contrctions.
Poultice: A moist, usually warm or hot, mass of plant material applied to the skin in the treatment of burns etc.
Rubefacient: A counter-irritant and external stimulant, it produces inflammation and redness of the skin.
Other
Rating:
How it is grown
Succeeds in most soils in sun or semi-shade. Hardy to at least -20°c. A vigorous plant, it can be grown through trees or shrubs or over tree stumps. Dioecious. Male and female plants must be grown if seed is required.
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: Climber
Hardiness: 4-8
Growth:
Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)
Shade: Semi-shade, no shade
Moisture: Dry, moist