Sarsaparilla

Sarsaparilla may refer to:

Biology

• Several species of plants, of the genus Smilax, including:
  • Smilax ornata, also known as Honduran or Jamaican sarsaparilla
  • Smilax aristolochiifolia, known as Mexican sarsaparilla
  • Smilax aspera, a flowering vine found worldwide
  • Smilax glyciphylla, sweet sarsaparilla, native to Eastern Australia
• Other plant species known by the same name include:
  • Alphitonia, known as sarsaparilla in Australia
  • Hardenbergia violacea, known as sarsaparilla in Australia
  • Aralia nudicaulis, known as wild sarsaparilla
  • Hemidesmus indicus, or Indian sarsaparilla

Food

• Sarsaparilla (soft drink), made or flavored with the root of these plants

Culture

• The Australian author Patrick White uses Sarsaparilla as the name for the fictional town where many of his works take place.
• In Peyo's comics, Sarsaparilla leaves are the Smurfs' food of choice.
• In The Big Lebowski, Sam Elliott plays a character/narrator called "The Stranger" who orders a Sarsaparilla drink on two occasions at a bar in the bowling alley where many scenes take place.
• In O. Henry's short story "Jeff Peters as a Personal Magnet" the titular character Jeff Peters uses "Sarsaparilla" as a Perfectly Cromulent Word saying "The triumph of mind over sarsaparilla".

See also

• Sassparilla (band), Portland, Oregon-based roots-rock band