tufuling
Smilax glabra
Family: Smilacaceae
What it is like
Smilax glabra is a deciduous Climber growing to 3 m (9ft 10in). It is in flower from July to November, and the seeds ripen from November to April. 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): 3
Where it is found
Thickets in uplands, W. China. Forests, thickets, thinly forested slopes along valleys, river banks at elevations of 300 - 1800 metres.
E. Asia - China to the Himalayas.
Conservation Status:
Countries/locations it is found in
How it is used
Food
Rating: 2
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.
Root: includes bulbs, corms, tubers, rhizomes etc.
Medicine
Rating: 3
The aerial tubers are used in the treatment of abscesses, boils, cystitis, diarrhoea etc. The rhizome is antiarthritic, antiscrophulatic, depurative, skin, stomachic. It has been used in the treatment of cancer, mercury poisoning, acute bacterial dysentery, rheumatoid arthritis and syphilis. It is said to be clinically 90% effective in the treatment of primary syphilis.
Antiarthritic: Treats arthritis.
Antipsoriatic: Used to treat psoriasis (an autoimmune disease that affects the skin).
Antirheumatic: Treats rheumatism.
Antiscrophulatic: Counteracts scrofula. (TB, especially of the lymph glands)
Cancer: Used in the treatment of cancer.
Dysentery: Used in treating dysentery - an infection of the intestines that causes diarrhoea containing blood or mucus.
Skin: Plants used in miscellaneous treatments for the skin.
Stomachic: Aids and improves the action of the stomach.
VD: Used in the treatment of venereal disease
Other
Rating:
How it is grown
We have very little information on this species and do not know if it will be hardy in Britain, though judging by its native range it should succeed outdoors in many parts of the country. The following notes are based on the general needs of the genus. 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; Shady Edge;
Habit: Climber
Hardiness:
Growth:
Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)
Shade: Semi-shade, no shade
Moisture: Moist