Difference between revisions of "Smilax walteri"

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===Use by animals=== <!--Herbivory, granivory, insect hosting, etc.-->
 
===Use by animals=== <!--Herbivory, granivory, insect hosting, etc.-->
Fruit remains of ''S. walteri'' have been found in deer pellets during May in eastern Texas.<ref name="Lay 1965">Lay DW (1965) Fruit utilization by deer in southern forests. The Journal of Wildlife Management 29(2):370-375.</ref> Its fruits are also consumed by a variety of birds.<ref name="White & Stiles 1992">White DW, Stiles EW (1992) Bird dispersal of fruits of species introduced into eastern North America. Canadian Journal of Botany 70:1689-1696.</ref>
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Fruit remains of ''S. walteri'' have been found in deer pellets during May in eastern Texas.<ref name="Lay 1965">Lay DW (1965) Fruit utilization by deer in southern forests. The Journal of Wildlife Management 29(2):370-375.</ref> Its fruits are also consumed by a variety of birds.<ref name="White & Stiles 1992">White DW, Stiles EW (1992) Bird dispersal of fruits of species introduced into eastern North America. Canadian Journal of Botany 70:1689-1696.</ref> Leaves and twigs are consumed by the Florida marsh rabbit (''Sylvilagus palustris paludicola'').<ref name="Blair 1936">Blair WF (1936) The Florida marsh rabbit. Journal of Mammalogy 17(3):197-207.</ref>
 
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Revision as of 17:20, 19 January 2018

Smilax walteri
Smilax walteri AFP.jpg
Photo by Craig Huegel hosted at Atlas of Florida Plants
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta - Flowering plants
Class: Liliopsida - Moncots
Order: Lilales
Family: Smilacaceae
Genus: Smilax
Species: S. walteri
Binomial name
Smilax walteri
Pursh
SMIL WALT DIST.JPG
Natural range of Smilax walteri from USDA NRCS [1].

Common Name(s): coral greenbriar;[1][2] red-berried swamp smilax[1]

Taxonomic Notes

Synonym(s): S. megacarpa[2]

Description

Smilax walteri is a monoecious perennial shrub or vine.[2]

Distribution

This species is found on the coastal plain from the eastern edge of Texas, eastward to central peninsular Florida, north to New Jersey and inland to Tennessee.[1][2]

Ecology

Habitat

S. walteri is found in swamp forests, bogs, and other areas that are often submerged for a portion of the year.[1] In the Okefenokee Swamp, southern Georgia, S. walteri had an above water biomass of 12 g m-2 with a productivity of 6 g m-2 yr-1.[3] In Tupelo gum-Cypress-swamp black gum communities of Alabama, S. walteri occurred at densities of 12 acre-1 (30 hm-2).[4]

Phenology

Flowering occurs from April through May and fruiting occurs from September through November but can persist beyond.[1]

Use by animals

Fruit remains of S. walteri have been found in deer pellets during May in eastern Texas.[5] Its fruits are also consumed by a variety of birds.[6] Leaves and twigs are consumed by the Florida marsh rabbit (Sylvilagus palustris paludicola).[7]

Conservation and Management

Cultivation and restoration

Photo Gallery

References and notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Weakley AS (2015) Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Herbarium.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 USDA NRCS (2016) The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, 19 January 2018). National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC 27401-4901 USA.
  3. Schlesinger WH (1978) On the relative dominance of shrubs in Okefenokee Swamp. The American Naturalist 112(987):949-954.
  4. Hall TF, Penfound WT (1943) Cypress-gum communities in the blue girth swamp near Selma, Alabama. Ecology 24(2):208-217.
  5. Lay DW (1965) Fruit utilization by deer in southern forests. The Journal of Wildlife Management 29(2):370-375.
  6. White DW, Stiles EW (1992) Bird dispersal of fruits of species introduced into eastern North America. Canadian Journal of Botany 70:1689-1696.
  7. Blair WF (1936) The Florida marsh rabbit. Journal of Mammalogy 17(3):197-207.