Common name: Sarsaparilla

Sarsaparilla is a forest vine whose roots are harvested for their flavouring and medicinal properties.

Originating in Central America, its native range extends from southern Mexico to Nicaragua through Belize, Guatemala and Honduras. Nowadays, it is cultivated beyond its native range in South America and the Caribbean.

It is an evergreen, woody vine up to 15 m (50 ft) long with square stems armed with stout, sharp thorns and the ability to climb using tendrils that arise at the base of the leaf. The underground root system is an extensive network of rhizomes and branching roots extending 2 m (6.5 ft) or more from the plant, but mostly horizontally, just below the soil surface.  

Leaves are elongated heart- or teardrop-shaped, up to 30 cm (11 in) long, bright glossy green, prominently veined on top, and alternately arranged along the stems. 

Flowers are small, six-petaled, greenish-white, grouped in half-round clusters, and with female and male flowers on separate plants. 

Fertilised flowers develop into small, round berries, 1 to 1.5 cm in diameter, green when young becoming dark purple or near black when ripe and with a single seed inside.

Use

The roots of wild plants have long been harvested for use as a flavouring and medicine. When harvesting the roots, the soil covering them is scraped away, then they are cut off near the crown but with a few of the roots left intact for the plant to renew its growth. The harvested roots are then cleaned, dried and bundled for storage or transported to a processing facility. An extract is made by crushing and boiling the dried roots in water or alcohol. 

Good quality Sarsaparilla is bitter-sweet and sticky to taste and has foaming properties due to its high saponin content. In the past, large quantities of dried roots were exported to the United States to make 'Root Beer', a non-alcoholic carbonated drink popular in the 1950s and 1960s. Nowadays, Sarsaparilla is more common as a flavouring agent in baked goods, confectionery and chilled dairy desserts.

Health use

Sarsaparilla contains steroids or steroid-like molecules, which have been shown to act as an anti-inflammatory in relieving the symptoms of skin disorders such as itchy skin, eczema and psoriasis. They are also used to treat gout, rheumatism and rheumatoid arthritis. And their estrogenic action shows promise as a natural treatment for premenstrual problems, as well as conditions associated with menopause.

Climate

Sarsaparilla is cultivated in Jamaica at elevations from 200 to 600 meters (600 to 2000 feet) in the parishes of St. Andrew, St. Thomas, St. Elizabeth and Trelawny, generally areas with annual lows of 18 to 22°C, annual highs of 27 to 32°C, annual rainfall of 1300 to 2500 mm and a dry season of 4 months or less. Introduced into Sri Lanka, it is reported to thrive there at the Kandy Botanical Gardens, which has a climate similar to that described above for Jamaica.

Sarsaparilla may fail to thrive in areas where the average low of the warmest month is below 19°C (66°F).

Growing

New plants can be started from seed, cuttings or suckers. Best practice is to use cuttings or suckers taken only from male plants, so no fruit is produced. Therefore, there is no risk of any seed being dispersed and potentially causing a weed problem. 

Performs best on rich, free-draining loam and sand soils of a moderately acid to neutral nature, generally with a pH of 5 to 7, and on sites with filtered sun or light shade exposure. It has poor tolerance to drought conditions because of its shallow root system.

Problem features

Large doses of saponins may cause gastrointestinal irritation, resulting in diarrhoea and vomiting.

Birds eat the fruit produced by female plants and disperse the seed afar. It is listed as a weed in at least one reference publication.

The sharp thorns can cause injury to the unwary.

Books

• Adams, C. D. 1972, Flowering plants of Jamaica, University of the West Indies, Mona, Greater Kingston

• Brady, G. S. & Clauser, H. R & Vaccari, J. A. 2002, Materials handbook : an encyclopedia for managers, technical professionals, purchasing and production managers, technicians and supervisors, 15th ed., McGraw-Hill, New York

• Chevallier, A. 2000, Encyclopedia of herbal medicine, 2nd American ed., Dorling Kindersley, New York

• Duke, J.A. 1993, CRC Handbook of Alternative Cash Crops, CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida

• Fawcett, W. 1891, Economic plants, An index to economic products of the vegetable kingdom in Jamaica, Jamaica Government Printing Establishment, Kingston

• Higman, B. W 2008, Jamaican food : history, biology, culture, University of the West Indies Press, Kingston, Jamaica

• Hill, A. F. 1952, Economic botany : a textbook of useful plants and plant products, 2nd ed, McGraw-Hill, New York

• Khan, I. A. & Abourashed, E. A. 2010, Leung's encyclopedia of common natural ingredients : used in food, drugs and cosmetics, 3rd edition, Wiley Publishing, Hoboken, New Jersey

• Macmillan, H. F. 1943, Tropical planting and gardening : with special reference to Ceylon, 5th ed, Macmillan Publishing, London

• Morton J. F. 1981, Atlas of medicinal plants of Middle America Bahamas to Yucatan, Springfield, Illinois

• Randall, R. P. 2002, A global compendium of weeds, R.G. and F.J. Richardson Press, Melbourne

• Standley P. C., & Steyermark J. A. 1946 to 1976, Flora of Guatemala (25 volumes), Botany series publication (Chicago Field Museum of Natural History), Chicago, Illinois

• Stewart, A. 2013, The drunken botanist : the plants that create the world's great drinks, 1st ed., Algonquin Books, Chapel Hill, North Carolina