Smilax ovalifolia

(A. DC.) Roxb.

Giant sarsaparilla

Smilacaceae Edible: Leaves, Fruit, Roots, Flowers 59 iNaturalist observations

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Description

A twining shrub or climbing vine. It is armed with some prickles. The stems are branched. They can be 10 m long and are woody. The leaves are stalked. The stalks are 1.6-3 cm long and they have narrow wings for about half their length. Leaves are 10-20 cm long and 3.5-15 cm wide. They can be larger. They are oval and taper to the tip. There can be 1-3 flowering stalks together. They have 12-40 flowers each. The flowers are yellowish. The fruit is a berry and round. It is dark red and 0.9-1.2 cm across.

Edible Uses

The tender shoots and leaves are cooked as a vegetable, used in curry, and pickled. The ripe fruit are eaten fresh. The root is used as a substitute for sarsaparilla.

Traditional Uses

The tender shoots and leaves are cooked as a vegetable. They are used in curry. They are also pickled. The ripe fruit are eaten fresh. The root is used as a substitute for sarsparilla. It is used in medicine.

Medicinal Uses

The root is used in traditional medicine as a sarsaparilla substitute.

Distribution

It is a tropical plant. In Nepal plants grow to about 1400 m altitude. They grow in moist places in forested areas. In China it grows in forests from near sea level to 1500 m altitude in the south. In India it grows on the Deccan.

Where It Grows

Asia, Cambodia, Himalayas, India, Indochina, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Northeastern India, Pacific, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, PNG, SE Asia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam,

Cultivation

Plants are grown from seed.

Notes

There are about 300 Smilax species.

Synonyms

Smilax columnifera Buch.-Ham ex D.DonSmilax macrophylla Roxb. non Willd.Smilax prolifera Wall.Smilax retusa Roxb.and others

Also Known As

Atkir, Bagh achura lota, Chob-chini, Daini lahara, Fupro, Ghotvel, Guti, Hana, Hok-a-paw, Jangli-aushbah, Kaiha, Kaltamara, Kamakua, Konda tamara, Kukurdaino, Kukurdiano, Kumarika, Kumbhi, Luan ye ba qia, Malaittamarai, Mitri, Nadar, Nirubetta, Pundi marang atikir, Ralbu, Ramdatan, Tamboli, Tao wanyang, Yorit

References (29)

Acharya K. P. and Acharya, R., 2010, Eating from the Wild: Indigenous knowledge on wild edible plants in Parroha VDC of Rupandehi District, Central Nepal. International Journal of Social Forestry. 3(1):28-48
Ambasta, S.P. (Ed.), 2000, The Useful Plants of India. CSIR India. p 578
Aryal, K. P., et al, 2018, Diversity and use of wild and non-cultivated edible plants in the Western Himalaya. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine (2018) 14:10
Bandyopadhyay, S. et al, 2009, Wild edible plants of Koch Bihar district, West Bengal. Natural Products Radiance 8(1) 64-72
Borrell, O.W., 1989, An Annotated Checklist of the Flora of Kairiru Island, New Guinea. Marcellin College, Victoria Australia. p 100+3, 168

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Eiadthong, W., et al, 2010, Management of the Emerald Triangle Protected Forests Complex. Botanical Consultant Technical Report. p 51
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