银叶菝葜 yin ye ba qia

Smilax polycolea Warburg var. acuminata Warburg.

Shrubs subscandent, unarmed. Stem suberect, branched, 0.5--2 m. Petiole usually curved, 5--10 mm, transversely wrinkled on proximal 1/2, basally narrowly winged; wings sometimes auriculate apically; abscission zone at middle; tendrils absent. Leaf blade abaxially grayish green, ovate, elliptic-ovate, or ovate-lanceolate, abaxially slightly shiny. Male inflorescence of 1(or 2) umbels, basally prophyllate; peduncle 1--2 cm, articulate 2--5 mm from base; umbels 3--15-flowered, base scarcely thickened. Male flowers: tepals yellowish green, outer ones 2.5--3.5 × 1--1.5 mm; stamens very short, ca. 0.7 mm. Female flowers unknown. Berries blackish blue, globose, ca. 8 mm in diam. Fl. Feb--Apr, fr. Nov.

* Forests, thickets; 500--1900 m. Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hubei, Hunan, Sichuan, Yunnan.