Sorts of Sarsaparilla—In the present state of our knowledge no botanical classification of the different kinds of sarsaparilla being possible, we shall resort to the arrangement adopted by Pereira and place them in two groups,—the mealy, or those of which starch is a prevalent constituent, and the non-mealy, or those in which starch exists to a comparatively small extent.
(A.) Mealy Sarsaparillas.
1. Honduras Sarsaparilla—This drug is exported from Belize. It is made up in hanks or rolls about 30 inches long and 2½ to 4 inches or more in diameter, closely wound round with a long root so as to form a neat bundle. The hanks are united into bales by large pieces of hide, placed at top and bottom, and held together with thongs of the same, further strengthened with iron hoops.
The roots are deeply furrowed, or sometimes plump and smooth, more or less provided with beard or rootlets. In a very large proportion of their length they exhibit when cut a thick bark loaded with starch; yet in those parts which are near the rhizome the bark is brown, resinous, and non-amylaceous. They are of a pale brown, sometimes verging into orange. But the drug is subject to great variation, so that it is impossible to lay down absolutely distinctive characters.
The annual imports into the United Kingdom of sarsaparilla from British Honduras during the five years ending with 1870 averaged about 52,000 lb.
2. Guatemala Sarsaparilla—This sort of sarsaparilla, which first appeared in commerce about 1852, resembles the Honduras kind in many of its characters, and is packed in a similar manner. But it has a more decided orange hue; the roots as they start from the rhizome are lean, shrunken, and but little starchy, but they become gradually stouter (³/₁₀ inch diam.), and acquire a thick bark, which is internally very white and mealy. There is a tendency in the bark of this sarsaparilla to crack and split off, so that bare spaces showing the central woody column are not unfrequent.
According to Bentley,[2642] who examined specimens of the plant, this drug is derived from Smilax papyracea; we are not prepared to agree in this opinion.
3. Brazilian, Para or Lisbon Sarsaparilla—Though formerly held in high esteem Brazilian sarsaparilla is not now appreciated in England, and is rarely seen in the London market.[2643] It is packed in a very distinctive manner, the roots being tightly compressed into a cylindrical bundle, 3 feet or more in length and about 6 inches in diameter, firmly held together by the flexible stem of a bignoniaceous plant, closely wound round them, the ends being neatly shaved off.
(B.) Non-mealy Sarsaparillas.
4. Jamaica Sarsaparilla—To the English druggist this is the most important variety; it is that which appears to have the greatest claim to possess some medicinal activity, and it is the only sort admitted to the British Pharmacopœia. Although constantly called Jamaica sarsaparilla, it is well known that it only bears the name of Jamaica through having been formerly shipped from Central America by way of that island.[2644] At the commencement of the last century, Jamaica was an emporium for sarsaparilla, great quantities of which, according to Sloane,[2645] were brought thither from Honduras, New Spain and Peru. Its actual place of growth, according to De Warszewicz (1851), is the mountain range known as the Cordillera of Chiriqui, in that part of the isthmus of Panama adjoining the republic of Costa Rica: here the plant grows at an elevation of 4000 to 8000 feet above the level of the sea. The root is brought by the natives to Boca del Toro on the Atlantic coast for shipment.