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Smilax glabra
Also called Glabrous Greenbrier, Chinaroot
Chinese Smilax is a climbing, tuberous woody vine from southern China and Southeast Asia, grown mainly for its rhizome in traditional medicine. It suits a warm, humid spot where it can climb a support and its tuber can stay moist but not waterlogged.
Smilax glabra, sarsaparilla, is a plant species in the genus Smilax. It is native to China, the Himalayas, and Indochina.
S. glabra is a traditional medicine in Chinese herbology, whence it is also known as tufuling (土茯苓) or chinaroot, china-root, and china root (a name it shares with the related S. china). Chinaroot is a key ingredient in the Chinese medical dessert guilinggao, which uses its ability to set certain kinds of jelly.
The root of S. glabra is used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) to treat dysentery, joint pain and colds. S. glabra is grown in Southern China. The rhizome of the plant is collected and dried during all seasons for herbal use. The dried root is mixed with water and taken orally. It is believed to cure Syphilis and restore balance in the body in response to yin disease by removing dampness and toxicity.
Sarsaparilla · Austral Sarsaparilla · Smilax glyciphylla · Laurel greenbrier · Smilax moranensis · Smilax officinalis · Jamaica sarsaparilla · Roundleaf greenbrier · Greenbrier
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Smilax glabra by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
Pet safety from the ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists.
