 |
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Sarsaparilla \Sar'sa*pa*ril"la\, noun [Sp. zarzaparrilla; zarza a bramble (perhaps fr. Bisc. zartzia) + parra a vine, or Parillo, a physician said to have discovered it.] (Bot.) (a) Any plant of several tropical American species of {Smilax}. (b) The bitter mucilaginous roots of such plants, used in medicine and in sirups for soda, etc.
Note: The name is also applied to many other plants and their roots, especially to the {Aralia nudicaulis}, the wild sarsaparilla of the United States.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Smilax \Smi"lax\, noun [L., bindweed, Gr. ???.] (Bot.) (a) A genus of perennial climbing plants, usually with a prickly woody stem; green brier, or cat brier. The rootstocks of certain species are the source of the medicine called sarsaparilla. (b) A delicate trailing plant ({Myrsiphyllum asparagoides}) much used for decoration. It is a native of the Cape of Good Hope.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
Smilax
noun
1: sometimes placed in Smilacaceae [syn: {genus Smilax}]
2: fragile twining plant of South Africa with bright green flattened stems and glossy foliage popular as a floral decoration [syn: {Asparagus asparagoides}]
From U.S. Gazetteer (1990) [gazetteer]:
Smilax, KY Zip code(s): 41764
 |
Definitions retrieved from local copies of the freely distributed DICT client/server software and databases. Click here for database copyright information. - KM |