NPSpecies

A voucher specimen for Smilax bona-nox for Barataria Unit was not found among the Smilax collections at Tulane University by Ferguson in 2008. S. bona-nox is found throughout Louisiana, including Jefferson Parish. Darwin (1982) reports S. bona-nox from Barataria Unit and subsequent authors report it, carrying it over through the years. However, S. bona-nox is easily confused with both S. rotundifolia and S. tamnoides, especially in the vegetative state. Some leaves of S. bona-nox and those of S. rotundifolia can look very similar, so if sterile material is seen they are easily confused. In fertile material, the penduncle (stem below the flowering head) of S. bona-nox is >1.5x longer than the petiole (leaf stalk), making it easily discernable from S. rotundifolia where the penduncle is <1.5x as long as the petiole (Flora of North America Vol. 26, 1993+). In sterile material, older leaves of S. bona-nox are hastate or pandurate (lobed at bottom) and may have white blotches and distal margins with prickles (missing in S. rotundifolia). It is wise to collect a voucher specimen that is fertile when possible, or if not to collect representative leaves of the vine, including older better developed leaves that are lobed. When comparing S. bona-nox and S. tamnoides, both have peduncles >1.5x as long as the petiole and are readily distinguished from S. rotundifolia when fertile. At certain stages they can both have entire and unlobed leaves and can be easily confused. They both have hastate or pandurate leaves as well, but S. tamnoides has minute serrations on the edge of the lobes. S. bona-nox has a white cartilaginous band at the edge of the leaf blade margin, lacking in both S. tamnoides and S. rotundifolia. Proximal (lower) stems of S. bona-nox have rigid, broad-based prickled that are widely spaced whereas S. tamnoides has flexible, bristly prickles which are very dense on the stem. The best way to tell these three Smilax species apart is to collect fertile material with representative older, hasatate leaves if present and a sample of the proximal stem. Until a voucher specimen of S. bona-nox is found for Barataria Unit, its presence there cannot be confirmed.; Data Source: Urbatsch, L. E., D. M. Ferguson and S. M. Zumo. 2007. Vascular plant inventories of Jean Lafitte Historical Park and Preserve, Barataria and Chalmette Units.

FAC Facultative Equally likely to occur in wetlands or non-wetlands (estimated probability 34%-66%).

Data Source: Urbatsch, L. E., D. M. Ferguson and S. M. Zumo. 2007. Vascular plant inventories of Jean Lafitte Historical Park and Preserve, Barataria and Chalmette Units.

Park Species Data Source: BONAP database from contributed material.