Greenbriar, Saw greenbrier, Dunes saw greenbrier
Smilax bona-nox
Family: Smilacaceae
What it is like
Smilax bona-nox is a deciduous Climber growing to 6 m (19ft 8in). It is 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 moist soil.
Height (m): 6
Where it is found
Dry to moist soils, sand dunes, fields, clearings and thickets. Well-drained to wet areas in woods, fields, thickets, hedgerows, floodplain forests, full to partial sun, sea level to 1000m.
South-eastern N. America - Virginia to Kentucky, Kansas, Florida, Texas and Mexico.
Conservation Status:
Countries/locations it is found in
How it is used
Food
Rating: 3
Root - cooked. It can be dried and ground into a powder. The root can be made into a gelatine. The root contains a pectin-like substance. Young shoots - raw or cooked. Fruit - raw. A rubbery texture, it is chewed (and chewed and chewed presumably!) Produced in umbels of up to 20 fruits, each fruit is about 5mm in diameter.
Root: includes bulbs, corms, tubers, rhizomes etc.
Stem: this often intergrades into leaves.
Gelatine: substitutes that is.
Medicine
Rating: 2
The root is diuretic. It is used in the treatment of dropsy and urinary complaints. 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. 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 as a general tonic and also in the treatment of rheumatism and stomach problems. The wilted leaves are applied as a poultice to boils.
Birthing aid: Used in facilitating birth, but not just to cause uterine contrctions.
Diuretic: Acts on the kidneys, promoting the flow of urine.
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.
Urinary: Treats urinary problems, including urinary tract infection (UTI).
Other
Rating:
How it is grown
Succeeds in most soils in sun or semi-shade. 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: 0-0
Growth:
Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)
Shade: Semi-shade, no shade
Moisture: Moist