Smilax biflora var. biflora Brookgreen Gardens red berries in the cooler

red berries in the cooler months

spineless leaves look nothing like a Christmas holly until the flowers give the family away

though at Woodlanders we feel the plant deserves proper recognition

the last surviving species of an ancient lineage that once ringed the Northern Hemisphere

what appears to be the same plant turns up some miles east on Blackwater State Forest in northwest Florida

Smilax biflora var. biflora Brookgreen Gardens red berries in the coolerThis curious little Smilax is one of the quieter treasures in the Woodlanders catalog, a deciduous groundcover built of fine, twiggy, interlacing stems and small leaves, so densely and geometrically branched that the plant earned the house name Chicken Wire Plant. A member of the greenbrier family, Smilacaceae, this dwarf relative of the climbing greenbriers trades the usual vining habit for a low, intricate, shrubby tangle. The plant carries a small