Smilax biltmoreana, common name Biltmore's carrionflower, is a North American plant species native to the south-eastern United States. It is concentrated in the Great Smoky Mountains but with outlying populations in Virginia, North and South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, Alabama, and northern Florida.[1]
The species epithet biltmoreana refers to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina, once owned by George Washington Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt sponsored a significant number of botanical studies in the American Southeast in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries.[2]
Smilax biltmoreana is a herb with erect stems up to 60 cm (2 feet) tall. Leaves are egg-shaped to heart-shaped, with wax on the underside but no hairs. Flowers are small and greenish, fruits dark blue.[3]
