LinruBan Society. 429 



bifurcated, and all the nerves prominent on the under surface, acutely 

 edged and often furnished with prickles ; the colour of the leaves is 

 of a dark green, the under surface being a shade paler than the upper, 

 but never glaucous ; as in many other species oiSmilax, their length 

 varies from 2 inches to a foot, and their breadth at the base from 

 1 to 6 inches ; in thickness also they vary considerably, being 

 either coriaceous or more or less paper-like, and in the latter case 

 ^furnished with transparent lineolar dots. The peduncles are axillary 

 and solitary, somewhat flattened, and bear an umbel composed of 

 about sixteen flowers. The flowers are still unknown. The berries 

 are round, red, and of the size of a small cherry or less ; and each 

 contains two or three plano-convex seeds of a light brown colour. 



Dr. Seemann does not expect that botanists will object to the union 

 of the three supposed species ; but he fears that pharmacologists 

 may be disinclined to adopt his views, inasmuch as regarding the 

 different commercial sorts of Sarsaparilla as essentially distinct, they 

 lay great stress upon certain superficial characters of little botanical 

 importance. Thus the so-called Lisbon or Brazilian Sarsaparilla, 

 which comes in rolls about 3 feet long, is chiefly distinguished 

 from the Jamaica Sarsaparilla, by having fewer rootlets or beards, 

 and inasmuch as the beards contain a greater amount of mealy matter, 

 is on that account of less value in the market. But the author states, 

 that, if the Lisbon Sarsaparilla be carefully examined, it will be 

 plainly seen that the rootlets have been removed by some rough 

 mechanical process, and that when gathered they had as much beard 

 as the Jamaica kind, making it probable that if the merchant who 

 buys up this Zarza in various parts of Brazil, would instruct the 

 collectors that the preservation of these rootlets would not only save 

 them trouble but also increase both the weight and commercial 

 value of the roots, we should soon have from Brazil the same valua- 

 ble Sarsaparilla which we now obtain from Jamaica. The distinction, 

 however, on which pharmacologists lay the greatest stress is into 

 "mealy" and "non-mealy," according as the mealy coat immediately 

 below the outer cortical layer is of greater or less thickness, or 

 entirely wanting. This distinction, which is at once seen to be by 

 no means well-defined, depends moreover on the age of the roots 

 and the locality in which they were collected, the formation of starch 

 being probably entirely regulated by physical circumstances. In a 

 bundle of Jamaica Sarsaparilla many roots may be found mealy at 

 one end and non-mealy at the other. Again, the form of the cells of the 

 nucleary sheath of the roots has been considered as furnishing good 

 marks of distinction between the Sarsaparillas of Central and South 

 America; and Schleiden declares that he can readily distinguish 

 them microscopically. But this theory, as appears from Mr. Bentley's 

 paper before referred to, does not rest on any safe foundation. 



Dr. Seemann believes therefore that he may safely conclude that 

 the greater part of the Sarsaparilla of Commerce is the produce of 

 one and the same species of Smilax \ but he does not wish to infer 

 from the identity of the three supposed species, that the commercial 

 distinctions, now so universally acknowledged, ought to be given up. 



