Blue Ridge Carrion-flower
Smilax lasioneura
Found in moist forests; Coastal Plain hammocks; forests and woodlands. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Mississippi (estimated). How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 88%
- Height
- 7–8 feet
- Light
- Full to part sun
- Soil moisture
- Somewhat dry to moist
No photograph yet. Looking for an old drawing…
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- April to May
- Fruiting season
- August to September
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 14 Mississippi counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Forests on moist but not wet ground, such as rich slopes and ravines.
Dense, evergreen groves of live oak, magnolia and other hardwoods in the southern Coastal Plain, from dry oak domes to wet hydric hammocks and south Florida's tropical hammocks; salt-shaped maritime hammocks are maritime forests.
Forest or woodland where the source does not say how moist or dry.
Who uses this plant?
21CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including MS
Genus host records with ranges including MS · Smilax
- Acrolepiopsis incertellaCarrionflower Moth
- Amphipyra pyramidoidesMiranda Underwing, Copper Underwing, Copper Amphipyra
- Callopistria floridensisFlorida Fern Caterpillar
- Choristoneura parallelaParallel-Banded Leafroller, Spotted Fireworm Moth
- Cymatophora approximariaLarge Scalloped-Wing, Giant Grey
- Ephestiodes infimellaReddish Ephestiodes
- Eutrapela clematariaCurved-Tooth Geometer, Purplish Brown Looper
- Feniseca tarquiniusHarvester
- Hedone vibexWhirlabout
- Lithophane viridipallensPale Green Pinion
Show all 21
- Norape cretataWhite Flannel Moth
- Oiketicus abbotiiAbbot's Bagworm Moth
- Phosphila miselioidesSpotted Phosphila
- Phosphila turbulentaTurbulent Phosphila
- Phyprosopus callitrichoidesCurved-Line Owlet
- Proleucoptera smilaciellaGreenbrier Leafminer
- Pseudogalleria inimicellaInimical Borer
- Pseudothyris sepulchralisMournful Thyris
- Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformisEvergreen Bagworm Moth
- Trichoplusia niNi Moth, Cabbage Looper Moth
- Acrolepiopsis heppneri
10BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Smilax
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
11BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Smilax
- Bonasa umbellusRuffed Grouse
- Cardinalis cardinalisNorthern Cardinal
- Catharus fuscescensVeery
- Catharus guttatusHermit Thrush
- Catharus minimus/bicknelliGray-cheeked/Bicknell's Thrush
- Catharus ustulatusSwainson's Thrush
- Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
- Pinicola enucleatorPine Grosbeak
- Sialia sialisEastern Bluebird
- Turdus migratoriusAmerican Robin
Show all 11
- Vireo solitariusBlue-headed Vireo
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Smilacaceae
- Flower color
- Green
- Fruit begins
- August
- Fruit ends
- September
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “April to May” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Green” · Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide · Nursery cultural guide; height in flower; moisture categories retained as printed
- Fruit begins · “August” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit ends · “September” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Height · “7–8 feet” · Tennessee Smart Yards (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs) · Published Tennessee growing guidance; exact cached scientific heading
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · Minnesota Wildflowers
- Light · “Full to part sun” · Tennessee Smart Yards (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs) · Published Tennessee growing guidance; exact cached scientific heading
- primary_flower_color · “green” · Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide
- Soil · “moderately wet to moderately dry” · Tennessee Smart Yards (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs) · Published Tennessee growing guidance; exact cached scientific heading
Also known as
Blue Ridge Carrion flower; Blue Ridge Carrionflower; Midwest Carrion Flower
Conservation status
| Mississippi rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| MS status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Mississippi occurrence source
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications