S M I L A C E M. 



657 



coriaceous, smooth ; the young ones lanceolate, oblong, acuminate, 3-nerved. Petioles 

 smooth, with 2 tendrils above the base. Flowers and fruit unknown. 



Kunth, Nov. Gen. i. 271 ; Lindley, Fl. Med. 599. 



A native of Colombia, on the banks of the Magdalena. It is called Sar- 

 zaparilla by the natives, by whom it is collected and sent to Carthagena and 

 Mompox, whence it is shipped to Europe and this country. Pereira is of 

 opinion that it is the source of " Jamaica" and perhaps of " Honduras and 

 Lima Sarsaparilla." 



As before stated, Dr. Hancock says of the many species of Smilax he ob- 

 served growing in Guiana, one only has the qualities of the genuine officinal ar- 

 ticle ; this he describes as follows : " The stem is round, armed with short curved 

 spines ; the leaves are oblong, pointed, distant, smooth and glossy ; the root 

 is a tuber, with numerous divergent fibres of two or three lines in thickness, 

 and several in length." From the want of axillary spines, he is of opinion 

 that it is not the S. siphilitica, but, as has been shown by Dr. Pereira, this 

 does not seem to be a valid objection. Royle seems to think that it may be 

 the S. papyracea (Poiret), which is the S. siphilitica, Martius, non Hum- 

 boldt. The root of this is stated to have all the sensible properties of the 

 best Sarsaparilla. The other species said to afford this article, are S. japi- 

 canga, S. brasiliensis, S. cumanensis, S. cordato-ovata, and &. parhampuy, 

 which latter Dr. Lindley thinks may be the same as S. officinalis. 



As found in commerce, Sarsaparilla is made up into bundles more or 

 less spirally folded, having smaller radicles attached, and sometimes por- 

 tions of the rhizome and stem. The roots are some feet in length, about as 

 thick as a quill, longitudinally wrinkled, of a red, brown or grayish colour ; 

 somewhat brittle, with oftentimes an amylaceous fracture. Their odour is 

 somewhat argillaceous, and their taste at first mucilaginous, but finally be- 

 coming acrid. There are several varieties recognised, as the Jamaica, the 

 Brazilian, the Lima, the Honduras, and the Vera Cruz. The principal kind 

 in our market is the Honduras, or at least an article known under that name, 

 though it does not answer in all respects to the description of that variety by 

 Pereira and others. The Jamaica, which originally is a product of Hon- 

 duras, and is much prized in England, probably comes to this market, but is 

 not known under that name. Pereira gives the subjoined representations of 

 magnified sections of these two varieties, which show that their internal 

 organization differs in many particulars. 



Fig. 309. 



Fig. 310. 



Jamaica Sarsaparilla. Honduras Sarsaparilla. 



a Cuticle, b Subcuticular tissue, c Hexagonal cellular tissue, d Cellular ring, c Woody zone. 

 / Medulla. The hexagonal cellular tissue abounds in starch. 



42 



