Zarza parrilla is the root of a green, creeping plant, armed at
intervals with very small thorns. It has leaves almost a span long, from
the beginning of which proceed two tendrils, with which it entwines
itself with other plants. The flowers grow in clusters, and give place
to berries, which are first green, then red, and when quite ripe, black,
and wrinkled like dry cherries, which they resemble in size and form.
This plant is called by the Spaniards zarza parrilla, on account of its
thorns, for _zarza_ in Spanish means a thorny plant; _parrilla_, in the
same language, signifies a gridiron; as therefore the leaves of this
plant bear some sort of resemblance to a gridiron, three pretty large
veins running lengthways, crossed by a number of smaller ones, it has
received the name _parrilla_ or gridiron; but botanists call it _smilax
aspera Peruviana_, or _sarmentum Indicum_. The zarza parrilla is very
common on the banks of the Uruguay, and the Rio Negro, the waters of
which are celebrated for their salubrity; it is also found near the Rio
Tercero, in the territories of Sta. Fè, and other parts of America. The
most famous is that which comes from the bay of Honduras. The roots of
the zarza parrilla, which possess a medicinal virtue, are scarce thicker
than a goose's quill, wrinkled on the surface, and of a dusky colour,
but white within; all of them grow from the same joint or knot of the
plant. They have no particular taste or smell. They consist of rosin,
and gum which is the softer part of them. The various uses of these
roots are too well known to physicians to need an explanation from me.