any typically climbing shrub of the smilacaceous genus Smilax, of warm and tropical regions, having slightly lobed leaves, small greenish or yellow flowers, and berry-like fruits: includes thesarsaparilla plant and greenbrier
2.
a fragile, much branched liliaceous vine, Asparagus asparagoides, of southern Africa: cultivated by florists for its glossy bright green foliage
Word origin
C17: via Latin from Greek: bindweed
smilax in American English
(ˈsmaɪˌlæks)
noun
1.
greenbrier
2.
a twining greenhouse vine (Asparagus asparagoides) of the lily family, with bright-green foliage