There are a number of Smilax species, "sawbrier" being primarily used for Greenbrier, as Smilax herbacea has no thorns, also called smooth Greenbrier.. Check out this link below, or search Smilax herbacea and check other pages. One reports the specific carrion smell to be "dead rats". Although I have smelled dead rats, the odor did not leave a permanent impression. I think "carrion flower" must have become just a nickname for Smilax in general. Smilax herbacea is the only species with the odor, as I understand it. Listed as HARDY TO ZONE 4, with edible berries, leaves, and young stems, so it belongs in our listserv of its own merits. Sounds like you would know if you had this species around.
http://www.ct-botanical-society.org/galleries/smilaxherb.html
Now we just have to find a seed source,
Heron Breen
zone 4, Maine
On Thu Mar 16 18:46 , 'kieran or donna' redherring@tnaccess.com> sent:
Heron, I am a little puzzled, as I never knew why sawbriers were called "carrionflower" in the books, and though there are two kinds of sawbrier growing on our property, I have never smelled anything bad around them nor seen any flies hanging around them. Maybe there is only one species of Smilax with the bad smell, and we don't have it here? Donna
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