Family · Monocots

Smilacaceae

Greenbriers, sarsaparilla

Prickly tendril-bearing vines of woodlands; Smilax roots historically flavored sarsaparilla.

Accepted species: 268accepted names · Kew WCVP
Genus: 1accepted genus · Kew WCVP
Origin: ≈10 MaNeogene · crown age, Jin & Qian 2022 megatree
Centre of diversity: Asia-Temperatemost native species · WGSRPD

Open Smilacaceae in the treePan, zoom and dig into its genera in the interactive view.

Plants you might know

Smilax

Its genus

Smilax268 spp.

Where it grows

Asia-Temperate102
Asia-Tropical102
Southern America78
Northern America30
Pacific9
Australasia6
Africa4
Europe2

Native species richness by botanical continent (WGSRPD level 1), from Kew WCVP.

Related families

Smilacaceae sits in the order Liliales.