Phaseolus smilacifolius Pollard (1896: 233)

Debouck, D. G., 2021, Phaseolus Beans (Leguminosae: Phaseoleae): A Checklist And Notes On Their Taxonomy And Ecology, Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas 15 (1), pp. 73-111 : 97

Phaseolus smilacifolius Pollard (1896: 233) [clade B; sect. Paniculati Freytag].

TYPE: GV Nash 2505 ( HOLOTYPE: US-252673 ; ISOTYPES: F-48642 , G, GH-64080 , K, MICH-1104263 , MSC, P, PH ).

The fact that this species has been found in another county of Florida 101 years after the type collection lessens seriously the hypothesis of this species being a natural hybrid between P. polystachyus and P. sinuatus ( Isely 1990, p. 156) . Further, the planting of seeds with a progeny identical to the parents confirmed P.smilacifolius as a distinct species ( Abbott & Judd 2000, p. 497).With few collections from central Florida, it should be considered an endemic; from these few collections it is reported growing on hammock land in oak-juniper-palmetto association. According to Dohle and co-workers (2019), it seems that no accessions are currently kept in genebanks.

Specimens: U.S.A. Florida: JR Abbott 9557 (WIS), AS Hitchcock 483 (F-232856).