Smilax lanceifolia (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia
Introduction

Protologue: Fl. ind., ed. 1832, 3: 792 (" lanceaefolia ", 1832).

Vernacular names

Thailand: dao, naam dao (northern), thao yang dong (south-eastern)
Vietnam: dây kim cang.

Distribution

From the Indian Himalayas, south-eastern China and Taiwan to Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Java, Borneo and the Philippines.

Uses

Leaves and fruits are used in traditional medicine in Vietnam. A decoction of the roots is used against syphilis and rheumatism. The fruits are edible.

Observations

A climber up to 5 m long with smooth or sometimes sparsely prickly stem and branches.
Leaves broadly lanceolate to elliptical or ovate-oblong, up to 15 cm long, petiole up to 2.5 cm long, wings of petiolar sheaths weakly developed, tendrils up to 20 cm long.
Umbels usually solitary.
Fruit 5-7 mm in diameter, yellowish-reddish at maturity.

Two subspecies are distinguished: subsp. reflexa (Norton) T. Koyama (synonym: S. chapaensis Gagnepain) and subsp. lanceifolia (synonyms: S. laevis Wallich ex A.DC., S. micropoda A.DC., S. opaca (A.DC.) Norton). The former differs from the latter in its verrucose and often also prickly stem and branches, and is found in China and northern Vietnam. S. lanceifolia is a common climber in evergreen and lower montane forest and shrub savanna at 500-2000 m altitude.

Selected sources

[779] Koyama, T., 1960. Materials toward a monograph of the genus Smilax. Quarterly Journal of the Taiwan Museum 13: 1-62.
[780] Koyama, T., 1975. Smilacaceae. In: Smitinand, T. & Larsen, K. (Editors): Flora of Thailand. Vol. 2. The Forest Herbarium, Royal Forest Department, Bangkok, Thailand. pp. 211-250.
[781] Koyama, T., 1978. Smilacaceae. In: Li, H.-L., Liu, T,-S., Huang, T.-C., Koyama, T. & DeVol, C.E. (Editors): Flora of Taiwan. Vol. 5. Epoch Publishing Co., Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China. pp. 110-137.
[1227] Ridley, H.N., 1922-1925. The flora of the Malay Peninsula. 5 volumes. Government of the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States. L. Reeve & Co, London, United Kingdom.

Main genus page

Smilax (Medicinal plants)

Authors

Stephen P. Teo