Smilax anceps is a vigorous scrambling vine or shrub, and is one of some 278 species in the genus Smilax in the family Smilacaceae. The species is widespread in Tropical Africa, Southern Africa, Réunion, Mauritius, Comoros, and Madagascar. The specific name 'anceps' is Latin for 'dangerous', a caution against the hooked prickles. Tarundia cinctipennis Stål, 1862, a hemipteran insect, is associated with this plant. It has tough, fibrous stems up to 5 m long, armed with numerous hooked prickles and pairs of coiled tendrils at the leaf petiole bases. Leaves are entire, alternate, ovate to elliptic to somewhat circular, 4–14 cm long, with a leathery texture. Petioles are 0.5-2.5 cm long, thickened, and channeled above. Inflorescences are many-flowered axillary, globose umbels, with peduncles some 3 cm long and 2 ovate bracts near the middle, and some 5 mm long. Flowers in the same inflorescence are unisexual, with perianth segments 3–5 mm long, recurved, greenish-white, yellowish or brownish. The fruit is a globose berry, 8–10 mm in diameter, turning from red to purplish to black when ripe, slightly sweet and acidulous. This species was first described and published in 1806 by Carl Ludwig von Willdenow, the early German phytogeographer in "Species Plantarum" Editio Quarto 4: 782.
No narrative description available for this taxon yet.
A DNA barcode is a short, standardised stretch of genes that works like a fingerprint — enough to tell one species from another. Below is the molecular trace Smilax anceps has left across the world's sequence archives.
At a glance
DNA specimens5
Marker genes2
eDNA detections3
Countries2
Marker genes sequenced
★ the standard DNA barcode for this group — the short region actually read to tell this species apart. The rest are extra genes sequenced along the way.
★matK★rbcLa
plant barcode
08Occurrence & distribution
Record type5 568 records
Wild obs. + sensor4 120
Museum / vouchered1 390
Other58
Range
Area of Occupancy AOO6 656 km²
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Coordinate accuracy27% within 1 km
≤100 m 705≤1 km 153≤10 km 1 452>10 km 871
3 181 georeferenced · 939 without coordinates
Open the mapobservation + sensor4 120
Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence
Backed by a physical specimen — a herbarium sheet, sample or voucher held in a collection. “Vouchered” means supported by material evidence, not just an observation.
Coordinate accuracy54% within 1 km
≤100 m 16≤1 km 13≤10 km 25
54 georeferenced · 1 336 without coordinates
Open the institutions mapphysical evidence1 390
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
10Collections & institutions
Holding institutions19 of 68 geolocated
Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.
Institution
Specimens
Saint Louis, US
199
MeiseBGlocation not on record
165
Pretoria, ZA
154
Kew, GB
95
Plocation not on record
63
Durban, ZA
50
Parc Botanique et Zoologique de Tsimbazaza (PBZT)location not on record
44
WAGlocation not on record
40
National Herbarium & Botanic Gardens of Malawilocation not on record
39
LBVlocation not on record
28
Embrapa Agrobiology Diazothrophic Microbial Culture Collectionlocation not on record
27
HNBlocation not on record
19
CJBGlocation not on record
19
Glocation not on record
19
Centre National de la Recherche Appliquée au Developement Rurallocation not on record
17
Instituto de Investigação Científica Tropicallocation not on record
17
Herbier National du Gabonlocation not on record
15
Stockholm, SE
15
Brussels, BE
10
BRLUlocation not on record
8
Frankfurt am Main
7
LNBG$location not on record
6
Arusha, TZ
6
MAlocation not on record
6
Chongqing Museumlocation not on record
6
Dresden, DE
6
Paris, FR
5
LSF/FSA/UAClocation not on record
5
Institut Botanique Ake-Assi d'Andokoilocation not on record
4
Uppsala, SE
4
Yaoundé, CM
4
Berlin, DE
4
MSB-3054location not on record
3
University of Stellenboschlocation not on record
3
LISClocation not on record
3
Edinburgh, GB
2
Cape Town, ZA
2
Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d’Ivoirelocation not on record
2
Forestry Research Institute of Nigerialocation not on record
2
Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung: Senckenberg Forschungsinstitut und Naturmuseumlocation not on record
2
Université National du Béninlocation not on record
2
South African National Biodiversity Institutelocation not on record
2
Clocation not on record
2
IPHAMETRAlocation not on record
2
Elocation not on record
2
National Natural History Collectionslocation not on record
2
Addis Ababa, ET
2
Institute for Agricultural Research of Mozambiquelocation not on record
1
LDlocation not on record
1
Zlocation not on record
1
Buffelskloof Private Nature Reserve, Herbariumlocation not on record
1
UJLOGlocation not on record
1
University of Santo Tomas Museumlocation not on record
1
Haramaya Universitylocation not on record
1
Dekalb, US
1
Institut de Recherche Agronomique de Guinée (IRAG)location not on record
1
Centre National d'Application des Recherches Pharmaceutiques (CNARP)location not on record
1
Wlocation not on record
1
Coimbra, PT
1
Leiden University Medical Centerlocation not on record
1
EAlocation not on record
1
Llocation not on record
1
Museo Entomologico de Leonlocation not on record
1
Mlocation not on record
1
University of Johannesburglocation not on record
1
University of Hamburglocation not on record
1
Bronx, US
1
UEPAlocation not on record
1
68 institutions · 1 160 of 1 390 vouchered records shown · 230 without an institution code
09Environmental DNA3 detections
Where the DNA of Smilax anceps was picked up in samples of water, soil or air — nobody saw the organism, only its DNA left behind. A trace is a clue that the species was near, not a confirmed sighting.
Signal
Detections DNA found3
Studies independent surveys1
Countries2
Signal confidence: weakweighed across independent studies, places & mapped detections
Where its DNA was found
0 of 3 detections have coordinates
Open the map2 countries0
How strong is each trace?
DNA read depthRead counts were not reported for this species — the map shows presence only, not how strong each trace was.
Modelled climatemodelled
−15°Ctemperature across detection sites+40°C
Temperature median22.6 °C 22.0–23.1
Seasonal swing summer↔winter7.60 °C
Max temp (day)27.4 °C 27.0–27.8
Min temp (night)18.2 °C 18.1–18.3
Precipitation151 mm/mo 110–191
Air humidity62.6 % 60.1–65.2
Moisture balance14.0 mm/mo -32.4–60.5
Vapour deficit1,026 Pa 922–1,130
Wind speed2.20 m/s 1.80–2.60
Cloud cover51.5 % 38.9–64.0
CHELSA 1981–2010, ~9 km grid, at location & month of 2 detection points · median with p10–p90 · reflects where sampling happened, not only the true niche
How to read this: each dot is one detection of this species' DNA in an environmental sample. The confidence meter weighs how many independent studies and places back up the signal — one detection in one study is a hint; many across several studies is solid. Records dated before 2008 (when eDNA methods began) are treated as likely mislabeled and left off the map.
WikipediaWikimedia Foundation3 languages↗
BioWikiNetmultilingual Wikipediamultilingual↗
GBIFGlobal Biodiversity Information Facility5 568 records↗
ENAEuropean Nucleotide Archive · EMBL-EBI3 eDNA detections↗
BOLD SystemsCentre for Biodiversity Genomics5 specimens↗
GLoBIGlobal Biotic Interactionsbiotic interactions↗