Smilax spinosaMill.

WFO wfo-0000742082 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC BY / CC BY-SA

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 4 observations

This species has been photographed under an open licence only 4 times, so some figures below are different views of the same plant, taken on the same day, rather than different individuals. They are usually different parts of it: the leaf, the flower, the bark.

Smilax spinosa, photographed by Alexis López Hernández
fig. a Alexis López Hernández, CC BY 4.0 / 2021-04-20 / obs. 128785589
Smilax spinosa, photographed by Juan Cruzado Cortés
fig. b Juan Cruzado Cortés, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 58980762
Smilax spinosa, photographed by Francisco Farriols Sarabia
fig. c Francisco Farriols Sarabia, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 9037717
Smilax spinosa, photographed by Alexis López Hernández
fig. d Alexis López Hernández, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 128785502
Smilax spinosa, photographed by Francisco Farriols Sarabia
fig. e Francisco Farriols Sarabia, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 9037715
Smilax spinosa, photographed by Alexis López Hernández
fig. f Alexis López Hernández, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 128785588
Smilax spinosa, photographed by Skjold Søndergaard
fig. g Skjold Søndergaard, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 182783498
Smilax spinosa, photographed by Skjold Søndergaard
fig. h Skjold Søndergaard, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 182783865

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 24 botanical countries

Regions where Smilax spinosa is native: Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil Northeast, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panamá, Peru, Southwest Caribbean, Suriname, Trinidad-Tobago, Venezuela Mexico CentralMexico GulfMexico NortheastMexico NorthwestMexico SoutheastMexico SouthwestBelizeBoliviaBrazil NortheastColombiaCosta RicaEcuadorEl SalvadorFrench GuianaGuatemalaGuyanaHondurasNicaraguaPanamáPeruSouthwest CaribbeanSurinameTrinidad-TobagoVenezuela
Native distribution of Smilax spinosa, 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.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Belize BLZ SOUTHERN AMERICA
Bolivia BOL
Brazil Northeast BZE
Colombia CLM
Costa Rica COS
Ecuador ECU
El Salvador ELS
French Guiana FRG
Guatemala GUA
Guyana GUY
Honduras HON
Nicaragua NIC
Panamá PAN
Peru PER
Southwest Caribbean SWC
Suriname SUR
Trinidad-Tobago TRT
Venezuela VEN
Mexico Central MXC NORTHERN AMERICA
Mexico Gulf MXG
Mexico Northeast MXE
Mexico Northwest MXN
Mexico Southeast MXT
Mexico Southwest MXS

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 17 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 costaricae Vatke
  • Smilax cumanensis Schltdl. & Cham.
  • Smilax gaumeri Millsp.
  • Smilax luculenta Killip & C.V.Morton
  • Smilax lundellii Killip & C.V.Morton
  • Smilax mazatlanensis Sessé & Moc.
  • Smilax mexicana Griseb. ex Kunth
  • Smilax mexicana var. costaricae (Vatke) A.DC.
  • Smilax mexicana var. inermifolia A.DC.
  • Smilax munda Killip & C.V.Morton
  • Smilax obtusa Benth.
  • Smilax scabriuscula Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd.
  • Smilax scabriuscula var. fendleri A.DC.
  • Smilax spinosa var. spinosa
  • Smilax vaga J.F.Macbr.
  • Smilax wagneriana A.DC.
  • Smilax williamsii J.F.Macbr.

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. 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.