Smilax nervomarginata Hayata

Vines climbing, unarmed. Stem branched, terete, 1--2 m, woody; branches striate-ridged, sometimes minutely verruculose. Petiole 0.6--1.8 cm, narrowly winged for ca. 1/4 its length; abscission zone subapical; tendrils well developed. Leaf blade oblong, elliptic, or ovate-elliptic, 6--12 × 1.5--4.5(--7) cm, leathery, 5--7-veined, midvein obviously raised adaxially, base obtuse, apex acuminate. Male inflorescence borne in axil of leaf or scalelike bract, of 1 umbel, basally not prophyllate; peduncle slightly compressed, slender, 1.5--4 cm; umbel 6--17-flowered, base slightly thickened. Male flowers: tepals purplish brown, ca. 2.5 × 1 mm. Female flowers unknown. Berries globose, 7--10 mm in diam. Fl. Apr--May, fr. Oct.

Anhui, Guizhou, Hunan, Jiangxi, Zhejiang [Japan (Ryukyu Islands)].

Forests, forest margins, thickets; near sea level to 1000 m.