Smilax ornata

Lem. · species

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Plantae/Tracheophyta/Liliopsida/Liliales/Smilacaceae/Smilax

At a glance

Occurrence records39

Data sources9

Biological traits12

DNA specimens0

eDNA detections1

Sources9 archives

Databases and archives Smilax ornata's data was compiled from.

WikipediaWikimedia Foundation9 languages↗

BioWikiNetmultilingual Wikipediamultilingual↗

GBIFGlobal Biodiversity Information Facility39 records↗

ENAEuropean Nucleotide Archive · EMBL-EBI1 eDNA detections↗

dukesphytochemcompounds

LOTUSNatural Products (Wikidata)compounds↗

GRIN TaxonomyUSDA-ARSdistribution & uses↗

Open Tree of LifeOpenTreephylogeny backbone↗

GLoBIGlobal Biotic Interactionsbiotic interactions↗

On this page5 sections

Every layer below draws on the sources above — open one to explore it, or use ← → to move between tabs.

NarrativeWikipediaarticle

Traits & measurements3 literature sources12 traits

Chemical compositionDukesPhytochem · LOTUS3 compounds

Occurrence & distributionGBIF39 records

Environmental DNA1 datasets · 0 countries1 detections

01Narrative

Smilax ornata is a perennial trailing vine with prickly stems that is native to Mexico and Central America.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families Common names include sarsaparilla, Honduran sarsaparilla, and Jamaican sarsaparilla. It is known in Spanish as ', which is derived from the words ' meaning "bramble" (from Basque sartzia "bramble"), and ', meaning "little grape vine".SarsaparillaDavidse, G. & al. (eds.) (1994). Flora Mesoamericana 6: 1–543. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México, D.F..Balick, M.J., Nee, M.H. & Atha, D.E. (2000). Checklist of the Vascular Plants of Belize with Common Names an Uses: 1-246. New York Botanic Garden Press, New York.Espejo Serena, A. & López-Ferrari, A.R. (2000). Las Monocotiledóneas Mexicanas una Sinopsis Florística 1(9-11): 1–337. Consejo Nacional de la Flora de México, México D.F..Nelson Sutherland, C.H. (2008). Catálogo de las plantes vasculares de Honduras. Espermatofitas: 1-1576. SERNA/Guaymuras, Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

No narrative description available for this taxon yet.

02Traits & measurements

SourcesWCVPGIFTTRY

Size & morphology1

Plant height15 m

Life cycle & reproduction3

Life formclimber

Life spanperennial

Self fertilizationabsent

Diet & foraging1

Parasiteindependent

Habitat & environment6

Aquaticterrestrial

Climatewet tropical

Climberobligatory

Epiphyteterrestrial

Growth formclimber

Woodinesswoody

Physiology & chemistry1

Nitrogen fixingnon_nitrogen_fixer

03Chemical composition3 compounds

Compounds documented for Smilax ornata across natural-product and food-composition databases — not just the ~150 nutrients on a classic label ("nutritional dark matter").

💊 Medicinal use documented

Compound class profile1 class

Spirostane steroids1

Documented compounds3 total

Tissue Source Quantified only

Compound	Amount	Source
BETA-SITOSTEROL	present	DukesPhytochem
Parillin	present	LOTUS
STIGMASTEROL	present	DukesPhytochem

05DNA & barcoding1 eDNA hits

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 ornata has left across the world's sequence archives.

At a glance

eDNA detections1

08Occurrence & distribution

Record type39 records

Museum / vouchered35

Other4

Range

Area of Occupancy AOO96 km²

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 accuracy95% within 1 km

≤100 m 18≤10 km 1

19 georeferenced · 16 without coordinates

Open the institutions mapphysical evidence35

10Collections & institutions

Holding institutions11 of 12 geolocated

Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.

Institution	Specimens
Mexico City, MX	6
Tuxtla Gutiérrez, MX	5
Austin, US	5
Austin, US	4
Ann Arbor, US	3
Saint Louis, US	3
Bronx, US	2
South Kensington, GB	2
Durango, MX	2
Tapachula, MX	1
CASlocation not on record	1
Riverside, US	1

12 institutions · 35 of 35 vouchered records shown

09Environmental DNA1 detections

Where the DNA of Smilax ornata 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 found1

Studies independent surveys1

Signal confidence: weakweighed across independent studies, places & mapped detections

Where its DNA was found

0 of 1 detections have coordinates

Open the map0 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.

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.

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