This Smooth Carrionflower is native to southeast Canada down to northern Georgia, west to eastern Kansas and back up thru Minnesota to Canada. It differs from most Smilax species, often called greenbriar, in that it does not have thorns and it is smooth.The small white flowers in the round umbel flower clusters stink like something dead and rotting. The flowers attract carrion flies and some other insects as some bees. Like other Smilax it is dioecious, meaning it comes as separate male and female plants. The female plants bear the pea-sized bluish-black berries in June. One information source says that this plant is a fire risk, as it must burn easily.

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In "How to Know the Wildflowers" (1922) by Mrs. William Starr Dana, the author quotes Thoreau as likening its odor to that of "a dead rat in the wall". The author notes that it is unfortunate that such a handsome plant is so handicapped by the foul odor of its flowers which appear in June. However, the plant really shines in autumn when the dark berries and deeply tinted leaves can be seen along roadsides and in woods and meadows. The plant is a near relation to common green-brier (S. rotundifolia) which can be distinguished by its prickly stem.

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