Smilax auriculata is a North American plant species native to the Bahamas, the Turks & Caicos Islands, and the southeastern United States. Common names include earleaf greenbrier and wild-bamboo, despite the fact that it is not closely related to bamboo. It is reported from Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana.Kew World Checklist of Plant FamiliesBiota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map It grows on coastal sand dunes and in sun-lit locations in sandy woodlands at elevations of less than 100 m (333 feet).Flora of North America v 26 p 471.Correll, D.S. & Correll, H.B. (1982). Flora of the Bahama Archipelago: 1-1692. J.Cramer, Vaduzerrufino-Acosta, L. (2010). Taxonomic revision of the genus Smilax (Smilacaceae) in Central America and the Caribbean islands. Willdenowia 40: 227-280. Smilax auriculata is a perennial vine-producing underground rhizomes and sometimes tubers. Plants are climbers with zigzag branching, sometimes reaching a height of 9 m (30 feet). Prickles on the stem are flattened and rigid, about 4 mm (0.16 inches) long. Leaves are evergreen, narrowly ovate, not waxy, up to 8.5 cm (3.4 inches) long. Flowers are green, borne in umbels of 3–8 flowers. Berries are dark purple, almost black, about 6 mm (0.24 inches) in diameter.Walter, Thomas. Flora Caroliniana, secundum 245. 1788.Ferrufino Acosta, L. 2010. Taxonomic revision of the genus Smilax (Smilacaceae) in Central America and the Caribbean Islands. Willdenowia 40: 227–280.Godfrey, R. K. & J. W. Wooten. 1979. Aquatic and Wetland Plants of Southeastern United States Monocotyledons 1–712. The University of Georgia Press, Athens.Wunderlin, R. P. 1998. Guide to the Vascular Plants of Florida i–x, 1–806. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.Long, R. W. & O. K. Lakela. 1971. A Flora of Tropical Florida: A Manual of the Seed Plants and Ferns of Southern Peninsular Florida i–xvii, 1–962. University of Miami Press, Coral Cables.
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 auriculata has left across the world's sequence archives.
At a glance
DNA specimens3
Marker genes2
GenBank sequences10
eDNA detections2
Countries1
The DNA barcodea real sequence read deposited for this species
★ 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.
★matK4★rbcL6
plant barcode
08Occurrence & distribution
Record type5 970 records
Wild obs. + sensor5 316
Museum / vouchered654
Range
Area of Occupancy AOO11 048 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 accuracy90% within 1 km
≤100 m 3 480≤1 km 510≤10 km 158>10 km 299
4 447 georeferenced · 869 without coordinates
Open the mapobservation + sensor5 316
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 accuracy29% within 1 km
≤100 m 26≤1 km 33≤10 km 64>10 km 82
205 georeferenced · 449 without coordinates
Open the institutions mapphysical evidence654
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 institutions37 of 59 geolocated
Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.
Institution
Specimens
Tampa, US
211
Miami, US
83
Florida Museum of Natural History- Zoology, Paleontology & Paleobotanylocation not on record
45
Bangkok, TH
22
Jackson, US
18
US
18
Jena Microbial Resource Collectionlocation not on record
16
Columbia, US
16
GAlocation not on record
15
Valdosta State Universitylocation not on record
14
Saint Louis, US
14
BAYLUlocation not on record
12
Wuzhou, CN
12
Bloomington, US
12
Tuscaloosa, US
11
Tall Timbers Research Stationlocation not on record
11
University of Southern Mississippilocation not on record
10
Chapel Hill, US
10
Bronx, US
9
DOI/NPS, Mississippi National River & Recreation Arealocation not on record
7
Kew, GB
6
University of Stellenboschlocation not on record
5
University of North Carolina at Pembrokelocation not on record
5
Williamsburg, US
5
Knoxville, US
5
AUAlocation not on record
4
Philadelphia, US
4
Clemson, US
3
Burlington, US
3
McWane Science Centerlocation not on record
2
Canadian Department of Agriculturelocation not on record
2
EL PASO, US
2
Flagstaff, US
2
Dekalb, US
2
Chadron, US
2
Mississippi State, US
1
Chongqing Museumlocation not on record
1
Wlocation not on record
1
Auckland, NZ
1
Norfolk, US
1
San Angelo, US
1
DOI/NPS, Little Rock Central High School National Historic Sitelocation not on record
1
Mérida, MX
1
Claremont, US
1
GB
1
Moscow, US
1
Florida Museum of Natural Historylocation not on record
1
Columbus State Universitylocation not on record
1
National Institute of Biological Resourceslocation not on record
1
Beijing, CN
1
North Carolina Museum of Natural Scienceslocation not on record
1
College Park, US
1
ASUlocation not on record
1
Taipei, TW
1
Tempe, US
1
Lord Fairfax Community Collegelocation not on record
1
South Kensington, GB
1
Fort Worth, US
1
Boise, US
1
59 institutions · 642 of 654 vouchered records shown · 12 without an institution code
09Environmental DNA2 detections
Where the DNA of Smilax auriculata 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 found2
Studies independent surveys1
Countries1
Signal confidence: weakweighed across independent studies, places & mapped detections
Where its DNA was found
0 of 2 detections have coordinates
Open the map1 country0
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 median27.1 °C 27.1–27.1
Seasonal swing summer↔winter19.2 °C
Max temp (day)32.5 °C
Min temp (night)22.6 °C
Precipitation134 mm/mo
Air humidity60.4 %
Moisture balance-32.1 mm/mo
Vapour deficit1,424 Pa
Wind speed2.00 m/s
Cloud cover29.4 %
CHELSA 1981–2010, ~9 km grid, at location & month of 1 detection point · 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 970 records↗
ENAEuropean Nucleotide Archive · EMBL-EBI2 eDNA detections↗
BOLD SystemsCentre for Biodiversity Genomics3 specimens↗
NCBIUS National Library of Medicinesequences↗
GRIN TaxonomyUSDA-ARSdistribution & uses↗
Open Tree of LifeOpenTreephylogeny backbone↗
GLoBIGlobal Biotic Interactionsbiotic interactions↗