Smilax ornata

This article is about the sarsaparilla plant used in root beer. For the Indian sarsaparilla, see Hemidesmus indicus.

Smilax ornata
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Liliales
Family: Smilacaceae
Genus: Smilax
Species:
S. ornata
Binomial name
Smilax ornata
Synonyms[2]
  • Smilax grandifolia Regel 1856, not Buckley 1843 nor Voigt 1845 nor Poepp. ex A. DC. 1878
  • Smilax ornata Hook. 1889 not Lem. 1865[1]
  • Smilax regelii Killip & C.V.Morton
  • Smilax utilis Hemsl. 1899, not C.H. Wright 1895

Smilax ornata is a perennial trailing vine with prickly stems that is native to Mexico and Central America.[3] Common names include sarsaparilla,[4] Honduran sarsaparilla,[4] and Jamaican sarsaparilla.[4]

It is known in Spanish as zarzaparrilla, which is derived from the words zarza meaning "bramble" (from Basque sartzia "bramble"), and parrilla, meaning "little grape vine".[5][6][7][8][9]

  1. ^ "Tropicos.org". Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  2. ^ "The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species". Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  3. ^ Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  4. ^ a b c "Smilax regelii". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  5. ^ Sarsaparilla
  6. ^ Davidse, G. & al. (eds.) (1994). Flora Mesoamericana 6: 1–543. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México, D.F.
  7. ^ Balick, M.J., Nee, M.H. & Atha, D.E. (2000). Checklist of the Vascular Plants of Belize with Common Names an Uses: 1-246. New York Botanic Garden Press, New York.
  8. ^ Espejo Serena, A. & López-Ferrari, A.R. (2000). Las Monocotiledóneas Mexicanas una Sinopsis Florística 1(9-11): 1–337. Consejo Nacional de la Flora de México, México D.F.
  9. ^ Nelson Sutherland, C.H. (2008). Catálogo de las plantes vasculares de Honduras. Espermatofitas: 1-1576. SERNA/Guaymuras, Tegucigalpa, Honduras.