Carrion Flower
Smilax nipponica

Family: Smilacaceae

What it is like

A herb. It can be erect or climbing. The stem is simple and 8-100 cm long. It is smooth, hollow and slightly pithy. The leaf stalk is 1.5-4.5 cm long and with small wings. It can have tendrils. The leaf blade is oval and 4-20 cm long by 2-14 cm wide. There can be powdery hairs underneath. There is one flowering stalk with 20-30 flowers or both sexes. The flowers are greenish yellow or white. The fruit is a round, blue-black berry. It is 6-7 mm across.

There are about 300 Smilax species.

Where it is found

It is a temperate plant. It grows in forests and grassy slopes in moist places along streams. In China it grows between 200-1400 m altitude. In Sichuan.

Countries/locations it is found in

Asia, China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan

How it is used for food

The new shoots are eaten. The leaves are eaten with oil and salt.

Edible parts

Fruit, leaves, root

How it is grown

Its other names

Local names

Bai bei niu wei cai, Sunmilnamul

Synonyms

Coprosmanthus simadae (Masamune) Masamune; Smilax herbacea L. var. intermedia C.H.Wright; Smilax herbacea var. nipponica (Miquel) Maxim.; Smilax longipedunculata Merr.; Smilax nipponica subsp. manshurica Kitagawa; Smilax nipponica var. manshurica (Kitagawa) Kitagawa; Smilax oblonga (C.H.Wright) J.B.Norton; Smilax simadae Masamune;