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Schisandra glabra (Bickn.) Rehd.
Bay Star-vine
Federal Protection: No US federal protection
State Protection: Threatened
Global Rank: G3
State Rank: S2
Element Locations Tracked in Biotics: Yes
SWAP High Priority Species (SGCN): Yes
Element Occurrences (EOs) in Georgia: 72
Habitat Summary for element in Georgia: Rich woods on stream terraces and lower slopes
Woody vine, twining up trees to 66 feet (20 meters) or more, and also forming low thickets on the ground; young twigs are pale brown and smooth; the bark on older vines is gray-brown, flaking, and bumpy. Leaves are 0.8 - 5 inches (2 - 13 cm) long and 0.4 - 3 inches (1 - 8 cm) wide, oval with tapering leaf bases, pointed tips, and widely spaced teeth along the margins; spicy-smelling when crushed. Leaf stalks are 0.4 - 2.9 inches (1 - 7 cm) long. Female and male flowers are on the same plant, held on delicate, drooping stalks 1 - 2 inches (2.5 - 5 cm) long; both female and male flowers have 9 - 12 rounded, red and green tepals (petals + sepals). Female flowers have 6 - 12 reddish pistils, male flowers have 5 stamens embedded in a small, flattened disk. Fruits are round or oval, red berries, up to 0.3 inch (4 - 8 mm) wide and 0.6 inch (0.5 - 1.5 cm) long, dangling in small, loose bunches.
Climbing Yydrangea (Decumaria barbara) attaches to trees with many, hairy roots; its leaves are opposite, and its white flowers are in flat-topped clusters.
None in Georgia. Schisandra is largely an Asian genus, with only one species, Schisandra glabra, in North America.
Moist, deciduous hardwood forests, often with Beech, usually on lower slopes, stream terraces, and floodplains.
Bay Starvine reproduces vegetatively – by rooting at the nodes of vines sprawling across the ground – and sexually by seed. It is monoecious – female and male reproductive structures are in different flowers on the same plant. Female flowers are probably pollinated by flies and flying beetles, which are attracted to the pollen offered by male flowers and to the similar coloration of the female flowers. Female flowers do not offer any pollen or nectar rewards, but are pollinated when insects, carrying pollen from a previously visited male flower, are attracted by the similar color of the female flowers and search for pollen among its numerous pistils. Female flowers are produced higher on the vines than male flowers and are more abundant than male flowers on larger, older vines. Smaller, younger vines tend to produce only male flowers. The brightly colored berries are eaten by birds and other small animals.
Surveys are best conducted during flowering (May–June) and fruiting (July–August).
Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, South Carolina, and North Carolina; Sierra Madre Orientale, Hidalgo, Mexico.
Logging and clearing of rich forested habitats; conversion of habitat to pine plantations and developments. Invasion by exotic pest plants such as Japanese Honeysuckle and English Ivy.
Schisandra glabra is ranked S2 by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, indicating that it is imperiled in the state. It is listed as Threatened by the State of Georgia. It has been documented in Georgia at more than 70 sites, 25 of these on conservation land. However, only 5 of these have been confirmed since 2000.
Protect mature hardwood slope forests from clearing and development. Avoid logging or other clearing near streams. Eradicate exotic pest plants such as Japanese Honeysuckle and English Ivy.
Chafin, L.G. 2007. Field guide to the rare plants of Georgia. State Botanical Garden of Georgia and University of Georgia Press, Athens.
Ettman, D. 1980. A study of Schisandra glabra (Brickell) Rheder: a rare species endemic to the southeastern United States. M.S. thesis, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
Fan, J-H., L.B. Thien, and Y-B. Luo. 2011. Pollination systems, biogeography, and divergence times of three allopatric species of Schisandra in North America, China, and Japan. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1759-6831.2011.00125.x
Feild, T.S. and S. Isnard. 2013. Climbing habit and ecophysiology of Schisandra glabra (Schisandraceae): implications for the early evolution of angiosperm lianescence. International Journal of Plant Sciences 174(8): 1121-1133.
Godfrey, R.K. 1988. Trees, shrubs, and woody vines of northern Florida and adjacent Georgia and Alabama. University of Georgia Press, Athens.
Kral, R. 1983. A report on some rare, threatened, or endangered forest-related vascular plants of the South. Technical Publication R8-TP2. United States Forest Service, Atlanta.
NatureServe. 2020. Schisandra glabra species account. NatureServe Explorer. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia. https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.141936/Schisandra_glabra
Panero, J.L. and P.D. Aranda. 1998. The family Schisandraceae: a new record for the flora of Mexico. Brittonia 50:87–90. https://link.springer.com/article/10.2307/2807721
Patrick, T.S., J.R. Allison, and G.A. Krakow. 1995. Protected plants of Georgia. Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Natural Heritage Program, Social Circle.
Taylor, D. 2005. Bay Starvine. The Lady-Slipper (Kentucky Native Plant Society newsletter) 20(3): 4-6. https://www.knps.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/V20N3-2005-Fall.pdf
Vincent, M.A. 1997. Schisandra glabra species account. Flora of North America, Vol. 3. Oxford University Press, New York. http://beta.floranorthamerica.org/Schisandra_glabra
Weakley, A.S. 2015. Flora of the southern and mid-Atlantic States. University of North Carolina Herbarium, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. http://www.herbarium.unc.edu/flora.htm
Linda G. Chafin
L.Chafin, Aug. 2008: original account
D.Weiler Jan. 2010: added pictures
Z. Abouhamdan, April 2016: updated link
L. Chafin, May 2020: updated original account.
