sarsaparilla, n. [Sp. zarzaparrilla; zarza a bramble (perhaps fr. Bisc. zartzia) + parra a vine, or Parillo, a physician said to have discovered it.].
Any plant of several tropical American species of Smilax. [1913 Webster]
" The name is also applied to many other plants and their roots, especially to the Aralia nudicaulis, the wild sarsaparilla of the United States."
[1913 Webster]
sarsaparilla, n.
1 a preparation of the dried roots of various plants, esp. smilax, used to flavour some drinks and medicines and formerly as a tonic.
2 any of the plants yielding this.
Etymology
Sp. zarzaparilla f. zarza bramble, prob. + dimin. of parra vine