Sarsaparilla
By: Lee Thatcher
Sarsaparilla, (Smilax Officinalis) whose name is derived from Spanish, meaning Thorny. This thorny vine has been used medicinally since at least the late 1500s. In Roman times, the young shoots were eaten, and the vine worn as garlands by the Bacchus festival partygoers.
Some of its uses included a cure for the common cold, a cure for earaches and deafness, and relief from upset stomach. The common saying in the Old West was that sarsaparilla cured anything but a gunshot wound.
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