Smilax biflora var. biflora Brookgreen Gardens the last surviving species of

the last surviving species of an ancient lineage that once ringed the Northern Hemisphere

blooming from late spring well into fall

what appears to be the same plant turns up some miles east on Blackwater State Forest in northwest Florida

a name woven through centuries of poetry celebrating that spring yellow

Smilax biflora var. biflora Brookgreen Gardens the last surviving species ofThis curious little Smilax is one of the quieter treasures in the Woodlanders catalog, a deciduous groundcover built of fine, twiggy, interlacing stems and small leaves, so densely and geometrically branched that the plant earned the house name Chicken Wire Plant. A member of the greenbrier family, Smilacaceae, this dwarf relative of the climbing greenbriers trades the usual vining habit for a low, intricate, shrubby tangle. The plant carries a small