Smilax megalantha C. H. Wright

Vines climbing. Stem branched, terete, to 5 m, woody, sparsely prickly. Petiole 1--2.5 cm, winged; wings 1--2 mm wide; abscission zone just above winged portion; tendrils sometimes present. Leaf blade abaxially usually glaucous, elliptic to oblong-ovate, thickly leathery, 6--16 × 2.5--9 cm. Inflorescence borne in axil of young leaf on new branchlets, of 1 umbel, basally not prophyllate; peduncle 1--2.5 cm, occasionally articulate; umbels of both sexes 4--13-flowered, usually ± racemose due to elongate base, base thickened, 2--4 × 1--2 mm; bracteoles persistent. Male flowers: tepals yellowish green or white, 6--8 × 2--3 mm. Female flowers: tepals slightly smaller than male ones, staminodes 6. Berries red, globose, 1--1.5 cm in diam. Fl. Mar--Apr, fr. Oct--Nov.

Guizhou, Hubei, Sichuan, Yunnan.

* Forests, thickets, shaded places; 900--3400 m.

Smilax cinerea Warburg; S. loupouensis H. Léveillé; S. megalantha var. alata F. T. Wang & T. Tang; S. tortuosa Diels.