XLI. THE GREEN BRIAR. 533 
The properties are various. Sarsaparilla, well known for its 
diuretic, demulcent and diaphoretic powers, is the root of one or 
several species of Smilax; and other species are known to have 
similar properties. Dr. Barton found the same in the root of 
Medéola Virginica. Some species of Trilltum, remarkable for 
the three-fold arrangements of its parts, its 3 leaves, 3 sepals, 
3 petals, twice 3 stamens, 3-celled ovary, and 3 styles, have 
nauseous berries and violently emetic roots. The large fleshy 
roots of China Smilax are eaten in the Celestial Empire instead 
of rice, and supposed by the Abbé Rochon to contribute to the 
corpulency of the Chinese. A reddish powder is obtained by 
maceration in water from the roots of the same plant, and, with 
boiling water, forms a jelly, which, sweetened with honey or 
sugar, is used as an article of food, according to De Candolle, 
in the southern parts of North America. 
THE GREEN BRIAR. SMILAX. 
The different sexes on different plants. The flowers have a 
perianth of 6 parts. In the male flowers, the 6 stamens have 
their anthers laterally attached. The fertile flowers have a 
minute style, 3 stigmas, and produce a berry with 3 cells, and 
1 to 3 seeds ineach. They are often climbing, prickly plants; 
sometimes herbaceous. The stem of the leaf has a tendril on 
each side. Flowers transient in axillary umbels. 
The genus contains nearly fifty species, of which fourteen, 
according to Nuttall, belong to North America. Two are found 
in Massachusetts: 
The Round-leaved Green Briar, known by its climbing, round, 
thorny stem; and 
The Carrion Flower or Herbaceous Smilax, known by its 
angular, nodding stem, and the intolerable smell of its flowers. 
Sp. 1. Rounp-Leavep Swtnax. Green Brrr. 8. rotundifolia. L. 
Figured in Audubon’s Birds, I, Plate 57. 
This is a beautiful but very troublesome vine, climbing with 
a smooth, yellowish-green stem, from clump to clump, and 
from tree to tree, to the distance often of thirty or forty feet. 
