Smilaceæ

Smilaceæ, a tribe of the natural order Liliaceæ, formerly by Lindley and others regarded as a distinct order under that name, and ranked by Lindley in his class Dictyogens (q.v.), and consisting of herbaceous or half-shrubby plants, generally more or less climbing, with reticulated leaves, and bisexual or polygamous flowers, a six-parted perianth, six stamens, a free three-celled ovary, with cells one or many seeded, three stigmas, and a roundish berry. The typical genus (Smilax) is, from an economical point of view, the most important of the tribe. Over 200 species are included in the sub-order, about 180 being comprised in the genus Smilax. The Sarsaparilla (q.v.) of commerce is the product of the roots of several species of Smilax; and the large fleshy tubers of S. China, a native of China and Japan, are regarded as nutritious and are used for food. S. pseudo-China, an American species, has similar tubers, which are used for making beer and for fattening hogs in some parts of the southern United States.