1883. F. M. Bailey, `Synopsis of Queensland Flora,' p. 114:
"Native Sarsaparilla. The roots of this beautiful purple- flowered twiner (<i>Hardenbergia monophylla</i>) are used by bushmen as a substitute for the true sarsaparilla, which is obtained from a widely different plant."
1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 189:
"Commonly, but wrongly, called `Native Sarsaparilla.' The roots are sometimes used by bushmen as a substitute for the true sarsaparilla (<i>Smilax</i>), but its virtues are purely imaginary. It is a common thing in the streets of Sydney, to see persons with large bundles of the leaves on their shoulders, doubtless under the impression that they have the leaves of the true Sarsaparilla, <i>Smilax glycyphylla</i>."
1896. `The Argus,' Sept. 8, p. 7, col. 1:
"He will see, too, the purple of the sarsaparilla on the hill-sides, and the golden bloom of the wattle on the flats, forming a beautiful contrast in tint. Old diggers consider the presence of sarsaparilla and the ironbark tree as indicative of the existence of golden wealth below. Whether these can be accepted as indicators in the vegetable kingdom of gold below is questionable, but it is nevertheless a fact that the sarsaparilla and the ironbark tree are common on most of Victoria's goldfields."
<hw>Sassafras</hw>, <i>n</i>. corruption of <hw>Saxafas</hw>, which is from <hw>Saxifrage</hw>. By origin, the word means "stone-breaking," from its medicinal qualities. The true <i>Sassafras</i> (<i>S. officinale</i>) is the only species of the genus. It is a North-American tree, about forty feet high, but the name has been given to various trees in many parts of the world, from the similarity, either of their appearance or of the real or supposed medicinal properties of their bark.
In Australia, the name is given to—
<i>Atherosperma moschatum</i>, Labill., <i>N.0. Monimiaceae</i>; called <i>Native Sassafras</i>, from the odour of its bark, due to an essential oil closely resembling true Sassafras in odour. (Maiden.)
<i>Beilschmiedia obtusifolia</i>, Benth., <i>N.0. Lauraceae</i>; called <i>Queensland Sassafras</i>, a large and handsome tree.