sassafras

Sassafras albidum is a medium-sized deciduous tree growing to 15–20 m (49–66 ft) tall, with a canopy up to 12 m (39 ft) wide, with a trunk up to 60 cm (24 in) in diameter, and a crown with many slender sympodial branches. The bark on trunk of mature trees is thick, dark red-brown, and deeply furrowed. The cotyledons are thick and fleshy. The shoots are bright yellow green at first with mucilaginous bark, turning reddish brown, and in two or three years begin to show shallow fissures. The roots are thick and fleshy, and frequently produce root sprouts which can develop into new trees. The leaves are alternate, green to yellow-green, ovate or obovate, 10–15 cm (4–6 in) long and 5–10 cm (2–4 in) broad with a short, slender, slightly grooved petiole. They come in three different shapes, all of which can be on the same branch; three-lobed leaves, unlobed elliptical leaves, and two-lobed leaves; rarely, there can be more than three lobes. In fall, they turn to shades of yellow, tinged with red. The flowers are produced in loose, drooping, few-flowered racemes up to 5 cm (2 in) long in early spring shortly before the leaves appear; they are yellow to greenish-yellow, with five or six tepals. It is usually dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate trees; male flowers have nine stamens, female flowers with six staminodes (aborted stamens) and a 2–3 mm style on a superior ovary. …

The species is native to eastern North America, from southern Maine and southern Ontario west to Iowa, and south to central Florida and eastern Texas. It occurs throughout the eastern deciduous forest habitat type, at altitudes of up to 1,500 m (4,900 ft) above sea level. It formerly also occurred in southern Wisconsin, but is extirpated there as a native tree.

S. albidum prefers rich, well-drained sandy loam with a pH of 6–7, but will grow in any loose, moist soil. Seedlings will tolerate shade, but saplings and older trees demand full sunlight for good growth; in forests it typically regenerates in gaps created by windblow. Growth is rapid, particularly with root sprouts, which can reach 1.2 m (4 ft) in the first year and 4.5 m (15 ft) in four years. Root sprouts often result in dense thickets, and a single tree, if allowed to spread unrestrained, will soon be surrounded by a sizable clonal colony, as its roots extend in every direction and send up multitudes of shoots. S. albidum hosts the caterpillars of 37 species of butterflies and moths, including the eastern tiger swallowtail (Papilio glaucus), spicebush swallowtail (Papilio troilus), palamedes swallowtail (Papilio palamedes) and pale swallowtail (Papilio eurymedon) butterflies and the cecropia (Hyalophora cecropia), promethea (Callosamia promethea), polyphemus (Antheraea polyphemus), imperial (Eacles imperialis), and io (Automeris io) moths.

Laurel wilt. Laurel wilt is a highly destructive disease initiated when the invasive flying redbay ambrosia beetle (Xyleborus glabratus) introduces its highly virulent fungal symbiont Raffaelea lauricola into the sapwood of Lauraceae shrubs or trees. Sassafras's volatile terpenoids may attract X. glabratus. …

All parts of the plant have been used by humans, including the stems, leaves, bark, wood, roots, fruit, and flowers. While native to North America, it is significant to the economic, medical, and cultural history of both Europe and North America. In North America, it has particular culinary significance, being featured in distinct national foods such as traditional root beer, filé powder, and Louisiana Cajun cuisine. It was an important plant to many Native Americans of the southeastern United States and was used for many purposes, including culinary and medicinal purposes, before the arrival of Europeans, when the foreigners were first introduced to sassafras (along with other plants such as cranberries, tobacco, and American ginseng). The wood is dull orange brown, hard, and durable in contact with the soil; it was used in the past for posts and rails, small boats and ox-yokes, though scarcity and small size limits current use. Some is still used for making furniture.

Use by Native Americans. Sassafras albidum was a well-used plant by Native Americans in what is now the Southeastern U.S. prior to the European colonization. The Choctaw word for sassafras is Kvfi, and it was used by them principally as a soup thickener. …