Vines climbing. Stem branched, to 2 m, woody; branches 2--4-angled, sometimes sparsely prickly. Petiole 2.5--5 mm, narrowly winged for 1/2--2/3 its length; abscission zone distal; tendrils sometimes present. Leaf blade lanceolate, ovate-lanceolate, or oblong-lanceolate, 3--7 × 1--2(--2.5) cm, leathery or thickly papery. Male inflorescence of 1 umbel, basally prophyllate; peduncle 1--3 mm, much shorter than petiole, proximally articulate; umbels 2- or 3-flowered, base scarcely thickened. Male flowers: tepals greenish, outer ones ca. 2 × 1 mm, inner ones ca. 1 × 0.6 mm; stamens ca. 1/2 as long as tepals; anthers suborbicular. Female flowers unknown. Berries dark purple, globose, ca. 1 cm in diam. Fl. Mar--Apr, fr. Nov.

The recently described Smilax guiyangensis C. X. Fu & C. D. Shen (Acta Phytotax. Sin. 35: 70. 1997), from C Guizhou (Guiyang), appears to be a distinct species closely related to S. basilata from which it differs in having white-marked leaf blades and rather long peduncles conspicuously longer than the petioles.

* Forests, grassy slopes; 1200--2000 m. Guangxi, SE Yunnan.