Sarsaparilla

One of PEI’s most common woodland plants is often overlooked, occasionally misidentified, and fruiting now. Meet Sarsaparilla (pronounced ‘sass-parilla’, Aralia nudicaulis).

Sarsaparilla is about 30 to 45 centimetres (a foot to 1.5 feet) tall and is divided into three branches, each with three to five leaflets (main photo). Those leaflets are often reddish when they first appear in spring, and they turn red again in fall. This, coupled with the old saying “leaves of three, let it be”, leads some people to mistake Sarsaparilla for Poison Ivy.

Three may be Sarsaparilla’s favourite number, but this plant poses no danger. Peek under those leaves in late May, and you’ll see three ball-shaped clusters of flowers growing from the base of the plant. Look closely to appreciate how delicate and beautiful they are: each tiny flower has five pale green, almost translucent, petals (top right photo). Once pollinated, female flowers develop into three groups of dark blue berries in mid-July (bottom right photo). Sarsaparilla has separate male and female plants, and I find males far outnumber females. If you’re looking for but not finding fruit, keep searching; chances are you’ve just been seeing males.

Sarsaparilla is often associated with root beer, although that drink’s original botanical ingredient was an unrelated, southern species (Smilax ornata) that shares our plant’s common name. When access to “real” Sarsaparilla became an issue, the root of our northern species – a plant that had long been used by Indigenous People including the Mi’kmaq (whose name for it is Wopapa’kjukal) – became a substitute. In the 1960s, compounds in Smilax ornata were linked to liver cancer, and commercial use of that plant was prohibited altogether. Today, root beer flavouring is mostly artificial.

In addition to useful roots, Sarsaparilla has edible berries. Raw, their flavour is interesting: pleasantly sweet at first, but with a decidedly bitter finish. This fruit is most commonly used to make wine, though a combination of the raw flavour and fact that I never find huge quantities of berries, means I haven’t tried this myself; I’m happy to leave them for the Squirrels, Chipmunks, Ruffed Grouse, forest songbirds, and other wildlife.

 Sarsaparilla is a beautiful, native, and underappreciated part of PEI Untamed!