11 de julho de 2022

The verdict is in -- nearly all are S. auriculata

After collecting a number of these observations of "elliptical-leaved" Smilax, I'm convinced that nearly all are Smilax auriculata. The conspicuous lateral veins distinguish them from S. laurifolia (and the leaves are smaller). Several examples collected here show a mixture of the elliptical leaves and the more standard "eared" leaves on the same plant (a good illustration is https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/19872386).

I have seen specimens of Smilax havanensis (extreme south Florida) that lack spines on the leaves and look very similar, but the observations in this project range all along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts from North Carolina to Mississippi, most of them well out of range for S. havanensis.

Mine are all empirical observations. I haven't looked closely at the literature to see if this elliptical-leaved form of Smilax auriculata has been formally described.

Posted on 11 de julho de 2022, 07:06 AM by janetwright janetwright | 3 comentários | Deixar um comentário

27 de janeiro de 2019

What are these ellptical-leaved Smilax anyway?

Some of you know I'm nuts about Smilax. They are just so variable and puzzling, and they spark so many questions about ecology and evolution.

As I tried to identify Smilax observations on iNaturalist, one morph in particular had me scratching my head. This form has little rounded, more or less elliptical, leathery leaves, oriented upward, with veins that are conspicuous and yellow seen from the upper side, but less evident from the lower. Typically the leaves also have mucronate tips (round but with a little point). They seem to crop up almost exclusively along the coast, from South Carolina to Panhandle Florida or maybe even Louisiana. What are they?

I decided to collect a bunch of these observations into one project so I could easily compare photos and map out where these are occurring, and also easily point them out to others. So this (https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/smilax-q1-elliptical-leaves) is that project. I'll do subsequent posts to show how and if I come to a definite conclusion. If you're reading this, you can help!

Janet

Posted on 27 de janeiro de 2019, 12:03 PM by janetwright janetwright | 0 comentários | Deixar um comentário

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