SARSAPARILLA.

659

Order 13. Smila'ce^, Lindl. —The Smilax Tribe.

p

ss Ential Character. — Flowers hermaphrodite or dioecious. Calyx and corollaconfounded, inferior six-parted. Stamens six, inserted into the perianth near the,a w; seldom hypogynous. Ovary three-celled, the cells one, or many seeded;style usually trifid; stigmas three. Frail a roundish berry. Albumen between fleshyai >d cartilaginous; embryo usually distant from the hilum. Herbaceous plants orp Un aer shrubs, with a tendency to climb. Stems woody. Leaves reticulated. (.Lindley.)r operties.—T hose of Smilax are alone known.

Smi'lax, Linn.— Several species yielding Sarsaparilla.

Seas. Syst. Dioecia, Hexandria.

(Radix dicta Sarza seu Sarsaparilla.)

History. —Sarsaparilla first appeared in Europe in 1530, and was^ployed as an antivenereal remedy (Voigtel, Mat. Med. Bd. i. S. 117.)V le Spanish term Zarzaparilla (from zarza a bramble, and parilla arine) signifies a thorny vine.

Botany. — Gen. Char. — Dioecious. Perianth six-parted, nearlya< l'ial, spreading. Male flowers : stamens six; anthers erect. Femaleflowers : perianth permanent; ovary three-celled, the cells one-seeded;Myle very short; stigmas three. Berry one to three-seeded. Seeds^Oldish ; albumen cartilaginous: embryo remote from the hilum.'B. Brown, Prodromus, p. 293.)

Species. —The following species yield at least part of the sarsaparilla0 commerce.

}• Smilax officinalis, Kunth , Lond. Ed. — Stem twining, shrubby,Hicldy, quadrangular, smooth; the young shoots are unarmed and almostr °Und. Leaves ovate-oblong, acute, cordate, netted, five to seven-nerved,c °riaceous, smooth, a foot long, and four to five inches broad ; the youngare narrow, oblong, acuminate, and three-nerved. Petioles smooth, anlong, bearing two tendrils above the base. Flowers andfruit unknown,rows in New Granada, on the banks of the Magdalena, near Bajorque.j lls is called Zarzaparilla by the natives, who transmit large quantities9 ar thagcna and Mompox; whence it is shipped for Jamaica andu’ain. (Humb. Nov. Gen. et Spec. i. p. 215.) It is probably the sourceJamaica, and perhaps also of Lima and Honduras sarsaparillas.

2. Smilax medica, Sclilecht.— Stem angular, armed at the joints withrai ght prickles, with a few hooked ones in the intervals. Leaves. r tly acuminate, smooth, five to seven-nerved ; inferior ones, cordate,bHculate-liastate ; upper ones cordate-ovate. Peduncle axillary, smooth,£,°ut an inch long. Inflorescence an eight to twelve-flowered umbel.

4 ru it red, size of a small cherry; contains one to three reddish-brownjf os. Embryo cylindrical, lodged in homy albumen (T. F. L. Nees,^ 1 Med. Suppl.) Schiede found it on the Eastern slope of the Mexican I? 68 - 11 is earned from the villages of Papantla, Taspan, Nautla,

• ls antla, &c. to Vera Cmz, under the name of Zarzaparilla, and is thereHoduced into the European market. The roots are gathered all thej ar long, dried in the sun, and then tied in bundles for sale (Linncea,

• ^76, quoted from Lindley’s FI. Med.) This species yields Vera Cruz^•apariUa.

Smilax siphilitica, Willd.— Stem round, strong, with two to fourai ght prickles at the knots. Tendril long, attached to the apex of