506 Select Plants for Industrial Culture and 



Sison Amomum, Linn. 



Middle and Southern Europe. An herb of one or two year's 

 duration. It grows best on soil rich in lime. The seeds can be used 

 for condiment. 



Smilax bona nox, Linn6. 



Southern States of North- America and Mexico. The young shoots 

 of this, of S. laurifolia (L.) and some others are edible. 



Smilax China, Linne. 



Japan and China. Stems of medicinal value ; in its native 

 country the young shoots used for food. 



Smilax glauca, Walter. 



Southern States of North-America, extending into Mexico. One 

 of the Sarsaparilla-plants, regarded by Dr. Porcher of undoubted 

 medicinal efficacy, both sudorific and alterative, containing much 

 smilacin ; it likes rich soil. 



Smilax medica, Chamisso and Schlechtendal. 



Mexico. This plant produces mainly the Sarsaparilla-root of that 

 country. It is one of the richest in smilacin. 



Smilax officinalis, Humboldt. 



New Granada and other parts of Central America. This climbing 

 shrub produces at least a portion of the Columbian sarsaparilla. S. 

 syphilitica (Willdenow) yields some Brazilian sarsaparilla, S. febri- 

 fuga (Kunth) the Purhampui-sarsaparilla of Peru. 



Smilax papyracea, Duhamel. 



Guiana to Brazil. The origin of the principal supply of Brazilian 

 sarsaparilla is ascribed to this species, although several others of 

 this genus, largely represented in Brazil, may yield the medicinal 

 root also, thus S. Brasiliensis (Sprengel). In warm humid gullies of 

 the temperate zone these plants would probably succeed in estab- 

 lishing themselves. Smilax Australis (R. Brown) extends from 

 the tropical coast-parts of Australia to East-Gippsland. Neither 

 this, nor the East- Australian S. glycyphylla (Smith), nor the New 

 Zealand Kipogonum scandens (Forster), has ever been subjected to 

 accurate therapeutic tests, and the same may be said of numerous 

 other Smilaces scattered through the warmer countries of the globe. 

 Even the Italian sarsaparilla, which is derived from the Mediterra- 

 nean S. aspera (Linne), has been introduced into medicine. 



