Smilax asperaL.

catbriercommon smilaxgreenbrierprickly-ivyrough bindweed

WFO wfo-0000740704 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC BY / CC BY-SA

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Smilax aspera, photographed by Pete Bradshaw
fig. a Pete Bradshaw, CC BY 4.0 / 2022-06-07 / obs. 204208658
Smilax aspera, photographed by Marc Riera
fig. b Marc Riera, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 199073896
Smilax aspera, photographed by Duarte Frade
fig. c Duarte Frade, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 198590904
Smilax aspera, photographed by Pablo MR
fig. d Pablo MR, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 196090776
Smilax aspera, photographed by carnifex
fig. e carnifex, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 203018979
Smilax aspera, photographed by Josep Gesti
fig. f Josep Gesti, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 192955663
Smilax aspera, photographed by Duarte Frade
fig. g Duarte Frade, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 190153037
Smilax aspera, photographed by Eleftherios Katsillis
fig. h Eleftherios Katsillis, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 189802066

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 43 botanical countries

Regions where Smilax aspera is native: Algeria, Azores, Canary Is., DR Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya, Madeira, Morocco, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, China South-Central, Cyprus, East Aegean Is., Iran, Lebanon-Syria, Palestine, Tibet, Türkiye, Assam, Bangladesh, East Himalaya, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, West Himalaya, Albania, Baleares, Corse, France, Greece, Italy, Kriti, NW. Balkan Pen., Portugal, Sardegna, Sicilia, Spain AlgeriaDR CongoEritreaEthiopiaKenyaLibyaMoroccoTanzaniaTunisiaUgandaZambiaChina South-CentralCyprusEast Aegean Is.IranLebanon-SyriaPalestineTibetTürkiyeAssamBangladeshEast HimalayaIndiaMyanmarNepalPakistanSri LankaWest HimalayaAlbaniaCorseFranceGreeceItalyKritiNW. Balkan Pen.PortugalSiciliaSpain AzoresCanary Is.MadeiraBalearesSardegna
Native distribution of Smilax aspera, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Algeria ALG AFRICA
Azores AZO
Canary Is. CNY
DR Congo ZAI
Eritrea ERI
Ethiopia ETH
Kenya KEN
Libya LBY
Madeira MDR
Morocco MOR
Tanzania TAN
Tunisia TUN
Uganda UGA
Zambia ZAM
Albania ALB EUROPE
Baleares BAL
Corse COR
France FRA
Greece GRC
Italy ITA
Kriti KRI
NW. Balkan Pen. YUG
Portugal POR
Sardegna SAR
Sicilia SIC
Spain SPA
Assam ASS ASIA-TROPICAL
Bangladesh BAN
East Himalaya EHM
India IND
Myanmar MYA
Nepal NEP
Pakistan PAK
Sri Lanka SRL
West Himalaya WHM
China South-Central CHC ASIA-TEMPERATE
Cyprus CYP
East Aegean Is. EAI
Iran IRN
Lebanon-Syria LBS
Palestine PAL
Tibet CHT
Türkiye TUR

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Also published as 51 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Smilax aspera f. balearica (Willk. ex A.DC.) Knoche
  • Smilax aspera f. intermedia Knoche
  • Smilax aspera f. punctata (Kolb) Rehder
  • Smilax aspera subsp. balearica (Willk.) Romo
  • Smilax aspera subsp. balearica (Willk. ex A.DC.) Romo
  • Smilax aspera subsp. balearica (Willk. ex A.DC.) K.Richt.
  • Smilax aspera subsp. mauritanica (Poir.) Arcang.
  • Smilax aspera subsp. nigra (Willd.) Nyman
  • Smilax aspera var. altissima Moris & De Not.
  • Smilax aspera var. angustifolia DC.
  • Smilax aspera var. balearica Willk. ex A.DC.
  • Smilax aspera var. maculata (Roxb. ex D.Don) A.DC.
  • Smilax aspera var. mauritanica (Poir.) Gren. & Godr.
  • Smilax aspera var. mauritanica (Poir.) Gren.
  • Smilax aspera var. nigra (Willd.) A.DC.
  • Smilax aspera var. ochrocarpa A.DC.
  • Smilax aspera var. perrottetiana A.DC.
  • Smilax aspera var. picta Willk.
  • Smilax aspera var. punctata Kolb
  • Smilax balearica (Willk. ex A.DC.) Burnat & Barbey
  • Smilax brevipes Jord.
  • Smilax capitata Buch.-Ham. ex D.Don
  • Smilax catalonica Poir.
  • Smilax conferta Jord.

and 27 more.

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.