Smilax leucophylla

Description

A climber. It grows 20 m long. The stems are flat. They have strong spines over the stems. The leaves are broad and oval. The leaf tapers to a tip. The base of the leaf also tapers into the leaf stalk. The leaf blade is 19 cm long by 11 cm wide. The leaf stalks are 2 cm long. The fruit are 1 cm across.

Edible Uses

The young leaves are cooked as vegetables. The fruit are also edible.

Traditional Uses

The young leaves are cooked as vegetables.

This uses section is brief — help expand it

Medicinal Uses

An extract from the roots of some species – most significantly Jamaican sarsaparilla (S. ornata) – is used to make the sarsaparilla drink and other root beers, as well as herbal drinks like the popular Baba Roots from Jamaica. Two species, S. domingensis and S. havanensis, are used in a traditional soda-like Cuban beverage called pru. The roots may also be used in soups or stews. The young shoots can be eaten raw or cooked and are said to taste like asparagus, and the berries can be eaten both raw and cooked. Stuffed smilax pancake, or fúlíng jiābǐng (simplified Chinese: 茯苓夹饼; traditional Chinese: 茯苓夾餅), is a traditional snack from the Beijing region. S. glabra is used in Chinese herbology. It is also a key ingredient in the Chinese medical dessert guīlínggāo, which makes use of its property to set certain kinds of jelly. The powdered roots of Jamaican sarsaparilla are known as Rad. Sarzae. Jam. in pharmacy and are used as a traditional medicine for gout in Latin American countries. Köhler's Medicinal Plants of 1887 discusses the American sarsaparilla (S. aristolochiifolia), but as early as about 1569, in his treatise devoted to syphilis, the Persian scholar Imad al-Din Mahmud ibn Mas‘ud Shirazi gave a detailed evaluation of the medical properties of chinaroot. Diosgenin, a steroidal sapogenin, is reported from S. menispermoidea. Other active compounds reported from various greenbrier species are parillin (also sarsaparillin or smilacin), sarsapic acid, sarsapogenin and sarsaponin. Due to the nectar-rich flowers, species like S. aristolochiifolia, S. bona-nox, S. tamnoides (S. medica is a synonym for all three of these species) and S. officinalis are also useful honey plants. A common floral decoration sometimes called "smilax" is Asparagus asparagoides, which may look similar to real Smilax but is not closely related. In 18th-century England, a type of beer called china-ale was made by infusing china-root (S. glabra) and coriander seeds in ale.

Distribution

A tropical plant. It grows in hill forest. In Java it grows up to 1,100 m above sea level.

Where It Grows

Asia, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pacific, Papua New Guinea, PNG, Philippines, SE Asia,

Cultivation

Plants can be grown from seeds.

Notes

Plant parts are also used as medicine. There are about 300 Smilax species.

Synonyms

Also Known As

Akar banar, Canar bokor, Chanar bokor, Kaguno, Ubi danau, Wanabekira

References (9)

• Altschul, S.V.R., 1973, Drugs and Foods from Little-known Plants. Notes in Harvard University Herbaria. Harvard Univ. Press. Massachusetts. no. 397
• Burkill, I.H., 1966, A Dictionary of the Economic Products of the Malay Peninsula. Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Vol 2 (I-Z) p 2075
• Borrell, O.W., 1989, An Annotated Checklist of the Flora of Kairiru Island, New Guinea. Marcellin College, Victoria Australia. p 40
• Heyne, K., 1927, p 445
• Martin, F.W. & Ruberte, R.M., 1979, Edible Leaves of the Tropics. Antillian College Press, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. p 202

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