Hemidesmus indicus, Indian sarsaparilla is a species of plant found in South Asia. It occurs over the greater part of India, from the upper Gangetic plain eastwards to Assam and in some places in central, western and South India. The root is a substitute for sarsaparilla (the dried root of the tropical species of Smilax, Smilacaceae; in India Smilax aspera L., and Smilax ovalifolia Roxb.). It should be distinguished from Mexican Sarsaparilla Smilax aristolochiifolia Mill. and Jamaican Sarsaparilla Smilax ornata