IVIV (2) Sauncho Smilax

[Mark Kohut]

Sauncho Smilax, the smooth overripe flower, hangs his tendrils around
Windowframe Doc......perfect.

--- On Sun, 8/30/09, Doug Millison <dougmillison at comcast.net> wrote:

> From: Doug Millison <dougmillison at comcast.net>
> Subject: IVIV (2) Sauncho Smilax
> To: "pynchon -l" <pynchon-l at waste.org>
> Date: Sunday, August 30, 2009, 7:19 PM
> Great name for a lawyer:
> 
> …rhymes with Pugnax, in ATD.
> 
> Smile + Axe = Smilax?
> 
> Sounds like a laxative, too.
> 
> Smooth Carrion Flower (Smilax herbacea)
> Nov 13, 2005 ... Smilax herbacea. The flowers smell like
> carrion, which attracts flies, ... Smilax herbacea.
> Pistillate (female) flowers. ...
> www.ct-botanical-society.org/galleries/smilaxherb.html
> 
> http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/smilax
>     • Main Entry:   
> smi·lax
>     • Pronunciation: \ˈsmī-ˌlaks\
>     • Function: noun
>     • Etymology: Latin, bindweed, yew,
> from Greek
>     • Date: 1551
> 1 : greenbrier
> 2 : a tender twining asparagus (Asparagus asparagoides) of
> southern Africa that has ovate bright green cladophylls
> which are often used in floral arrangements
> Smilax Officinalis is believed to augment an athlete's
> performance during training and other situations when the
> body is pushed to the max. ...
> www.bodybuilding.com/store/smilax.html
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smilax
> Smilax is a genus of about 300-350 species, found in
> temperate zones, tropics and subtropics worldwide. In China
> for example about 80 are found (39 of which are endemic),
> while there are 20 in North America north of Mexico[1]. They
> are climbing flowering plants, many of which are woody
> and/or thorny, in the monocotyledon family Smilacaceae,
> native throughout the tropical and warm temperate regions of
> the world. Common names include catbriers, greenbriers,
> prickly-ivys and smilaxes. "Sarsaparilla" (also
> zarzaparrilla, sarsparilla) is a name used specifically for
> the Jamaican S. regelii as well as a catch-all term in
> particular for American species.
> 
>  Occasionally, the non-woody species such as the Smooth
> Herbaceous Greenbrier (S. herbacea) are separated as genus
> Nemexia; they are commonly known by the rather ambiguous
> name "carrion flowers".
> 
> Greenbriers get their scientific name from the Greek myth
> of Krokus and the nymph Smilax.[2] Though this myth has
> numerous forms, it always centers around the unfulfilled and
> tragic love of a mortal man who is turned into a flower, and
> a woodland nymph who is transformed into a brambly vine.
> (Compare the story of Barbara Allen and sweet William: They
> buried Barbara in the old church yard They buried Sweet
> William beside her Out of his grave grew a red, red rose And
> out of hers a briar)
> 
> …An extract from the roots of some species – most
> significantly Jamaican Sarsaparilla (S. regelii) – is used
> to make the sarsaparilla drink and other root beers…
> 
> …as early as about 1590, the Persian scholar Imad al-Din
> Mahmud ibn Mas'ud Shirazi gave a detailed evaluation of the
> medical properties of Chinaroot, especially its use against
> syphilis.…
> 
> The leaves of Jamaican Sarsaparilla (S. regelii) are a
> favorite foods of the Smurfs. The wooden robot Clockwork
> Smurf is able to process the leaves into hot soup. In the
> film versions, the Smurfs are also fond of the berries,
> which they call "Smurfberries".
> 
>  In the RPG video game Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven
> Stars, "Smilax" is a boss Piranha Plant encountered before
> entering the Nimbus Land.
> 
>  In the Willa Cather short story The Sculptor's Funeral,
> smilax wreathes a sculpture in the house of Mrs. Merrick.
> 
>  In the 1974 TV series Land of the Lost, Holly often
> attempted to make smilax cakes resulting in a doughy, gummy,
> barely edible confection.
> 
>  In the 1960 novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee,
> protagonist Atticus Finch is paid in part with a "crate of
> smilax and holly".
> File under: All roads lead to the Internet:
> Smilax ™ is an internet server with a wiki interface for
> building websites that has been in use for about two years.
> The current implementation is written ...
> www.smilax.org/ -
>