SARSAPARILLA. 



OARSAPARILLA is of the genus Smilax, and is found a native 

 O of the northern part of South America and the whole of Cen- 

 tral America. It is a woody climber and supports itself in 



Honduras Sarsaparilla. Fig. i. Jamaica 

 (Natural Size.} 



climbing by strong tendrils which spring from the stem of the 

 leaf. The rhizome is short, thick, knotty, from which grows, in 

 a horizontal direction, the fleshy roots. These appear in com- 

 merce several feet in length and from one-third to two-thirds of 

 -an inch in diameter, cylindrical and flexible, with a thick ex- 

 ternal cortical portion. On a cross section of the root (see fig. 2) 



