The identity of this vine is rather confusing. In the book titled "The concise flora of Singapore: Monocotyledons" published in 1998 by Hsuan Keng et al. (page 11), S. bracteata was not mentioned. Instead, S. bracteata var. barbata was mentioned but indicated as an illegitimate name. It appears that this plant may be Smilax setosa. I will keep to S. bracteata for now.

The vine seems to have different forms in term of its leaf size and shape. When it creeps on the ground, the leaves start to get larger and more rounded. The stem in creeping mode is thicker than that while the vine is hanging down from trees.