| Sassafras | |
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| Sassafras albidum, Norfolk Botanical Garden | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Magnoliids |
| Order: | Laurales |
| Family: | Lauraceae |
| Genus: | Sassafras J.Presl[3] |
| Species | |
Sassafras albidum | |
| Synonyms | |
PseudosassafrasLecomte | |
Sassafras is a genus of threeextant and one extinct species ofdeciduoustrees in the familyLauraceae, native to easternNorth America and easternAsia.[4][5][6] The genus is distinguished by its aromatic properties, which have made the tree useful to humans.
Sassafras trees grow from 9–35 metres (30–115 feet) tall with many slendersympodial branches and smooth, orange-brown bark or yellow bark.[7] All parts of the plants are fragrant. The species are unusual in having three distinctleaf patterns on the same plant: unlobed oval, bilobed (mitten-shaped), and trilobed (three-pronged); the leaves are hardly ever five-lobed.[8] Three-lobed leaves are more common inSassafras tzumu andS. randaiense than in their North American counterparts, although three-lobed leaves often occur onS. albidum. The young leaves and twigs are quitemucilaginous and produce a citrus-like scent when crushed. The tiny, yellowflowers are generally six-petaled;S. albidum and (the extinct)S. hesperia aredioecious, with male and female flowers on separate trees, whileS. tzumu andS. randaiense have male and female flowers occurring on the same trees. Thefruit is adrupe, blue-black when ripe.[4]
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The largest known sassafras tree in the world is inOwensboro, Kentucky, and is over 30 m (100 ft) high and 6.4 m (21 ft) in circumference.[9][10]
The genusSassafras was first described by theBohemian botanistJan Presl in 1825.[3] The name "sassafras", applied by the botanistNicolas Monardes in 1569, comes from the Frenchsassafras. Some sources claim it originates from the Latinsaxifraga orsaxifragus: "stone-breaking";saxum "rock" +frangere ("to break").[11][12] Sassafras trees are not within the familySaxifragaceae.[citation needed]
Early European colonists reported that the plant was calledwinauk by Native Americans in Delaware and Virginia andpauane by theTimucua. Native Americans distinguished between white sassafras and red sassafras, terms which referred to different parts of the same plant but with distinct colors and uses.[13] Sassafras was known as fennel wood (GermanFenchelholz) due to its distinctive aroma.[14][clarification needed]
The genusSassafras includes four species, three extant and one extinct. Sassafras plants are endemic to North America and East Asia, with two species in each region that are distinguished by some important characteristics, including the frequency of three-lobed leaves (more frequent in East Asian species) and aspects of their sexual reproduction (North American species being dioecious).[citation needed]
Taiwanese sassafras,Taiwan, is treated by some botanists in a distinct genus asYushunia randaiensis (Hayata) Kamikoti, though this is not supported by recent genetic evidence, which showsSassafras to bemonophyletic.[6][15]
ManyLauraceae are aromatic,evergreen trees or shrubs adapted to high rainfall and humidity, but the genusSassafras isdeciduous. Deciduous sassafras trees lose all of theirleaves for part of the year, depending on variations inrainfall.[17] In deciduous tropical Lauraceae, leaf loss coincides with thedry season in tropical, subtropical and arid regions.
Sassafras is commonly found in open woods, along fences, or in fields. It grows well in moist, well-drained, or sandy loam soils and tolerates a variety of soil types, attaining a maximum in southern and wetter areas of distribution.[18]
Sassafras albidum ranges from southern Maine and southern Ontario west to Iowa, and south to central Florida and eastern Texas, in North America.S. tzumu may be found in Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Sichuan, Yunnan, and Zhejiang, China.[19]S. randaiense is native to Taiwan.[20]
The leaves, bark, twigs, stems, and fruits are eaten by birds and mammals in small quantities. For most animals, sassafras is not consumed in large enough quantities to be important, although it is an important deer food in some areas. Carey and Gill rate its value to wildlife as fair, their lowest rating. Sassafras leaves and twigs are consumed bywhite-tailed deer andporcupines. Other sassafras leaf browsers includegroundhogs,marsh rabbits, andAmerican black bears. Rabbits eat sassafras bark in winter.American beavers will cut sassafras stems. Sassafras fruits are eaten by many species of birds, includingbobwhite quail,eastern kingbirds,great crested flycatchers,phoebes,wild turkeys,gray catbirds,northern flickers,pileated woodpeckers,downy woodpeckers,thrushes,vireos, andnorthern mockingbirds. Some small mammals also consume sassafras fruits.[22]
Sassafras oil containssafrole, which may have acarcinogenic effect.[23][24]
All parts of sassafras plants, including roots, stems, twig leaves, bark, flowers, and fruit, have been used for culinary, medicinal, and aromatic purposes, both in areas where they areendemic and in areas where they were imported, such as Europe. The wood of sassafras trees has been used as a material for building ships and furniture in China, Europe, and the United States, and sassafras played an important role in the history of theEuropean colonization of the Americas in the 16th and 17th centuries. Sassafras twigs have been used astoothbrushes and fire starters.[18]
Sassafras albidum is an important ingredient in some distinct foods of the US. It has been the main ingredient in traditionalroot beers and sassafras root teas, and the ground leaves of sassafras are a distinctive additive in Louisiana'sCajun cuisine. Sassafras is used infilé powder, a common thickening and flavoring agent in Louisianagumbo. Methods of cooking with sassafras combine this ingredient native to America with traditional North American and European culinary techniques; they contribute to the uniqueCreole cuisine, which is heavily influenced by the blend of cultures in Louisiana and other states along theGulf coast.[25]
Sassafras, once a key ingredient in commercial American root beers, is no longer used, as its oil was banned in 1960 by the USFood and Drug Administration (FDA) in all commercially mass-produced foods and medications. The FDA's directive was in response to health concerns about the carcinogenicity of safrole, a major constituent of sassafras oil, in animal studies.[23][24]
Sassafras leaves and flowers have also been used in salads, and to flavor fats or cure meats.[26][27] The young twigs can also be eaten fresh or dried. Additionally, the subterranean portion of the plant can be peeled, dried and boiled to make tea.[28]
 | This articleis missing information about scientific evidence for or against effectiveness. Please expand the article to include this information. Further details may exist on thetalk page.(July 2023) |
NumerousNative American tribes used the leaves of sassafras to treat wounds by rubbing the leaves directly into a wound and used different parts of the plant for many medicinal purposes such as treating acne, urinary disorders, and sicknesses that increased body temperature, such as high fevers.[29] East Asian types of sassafras such asS. tzumu (chu mu) andS. randaiense (chu shu) are used in Chinese medicine to treatrheumatism andtrauma.[30] Some modern researchers conclude that the oil, roots and bark of sassafras haveanalgesic andantiseptic properties. Different parts of the sassafras plant (including the leaves and stems, the bark, and the roots) have been used to treatscurvy, skin sores, kidney problems, toothaches,rheumatism, swelling,menstrual disorders,sexually transmitted diseases,bronchitis,hypertension, anddysentery. It is also used as afungicide,dentifrice,rubefacient,diaphoretic,perfume,carminative andsudorific.[31] Before the twentieth century, Sassafras enjoyed a great reputation in the medical literature, but became valued for its power to improve the flavor of other medicines.[32]
Sassafras root was an early export from North America, as early as 1609.[33]
Sassafras wood and oil were both used in dentistry. Early toothbrushes were crafted from sassafras twigs or wood because of its aromatic properties.[18] Sassafras was also used as an early dental anesthetic and disinfectant.[34][35]
Sassafras albidum is often grown as anornamental tree for its unusual leaves and aromatic scent. Outside of its native area, it is occasionally cultivated inEurope and elsewhere.[36] The durable and beautiful wood of sassafras plants has been used in shipbuilding and furniture-making in North America, in Asia, and in Europe (once Europeans were introduced to the plant).[37] Sassafras wood was also used by Native Americans in the southeastern United States as a fire-starter because of the flammability of its natural oils found within the wood and the leaves.[38]
Steam distillation of dried root bark produces anessential oil which has a high safrole content, as well as significant amounts of varying other chemicals such ascamphor,eugenol (including 5-methoxyeugenol),asarone, and varioussesquiterpenes. Many other trees contain similarly high percentages and their extracted oils are sometimes referred to as sassafras oil,[39] which once was extensively used as a fragrance in perfumes and soaps, food and foraromatherapy. Safrole is a precursor for theclandestine manufacture of the drugsMDA andMDMA, and as such, sales and import of sassafras oil (as a safrole-containing mixture of above-threshold concentration) are heavily restricted in the US.[40]
Sassafras oil has also been used as a natural insect or pest deterrent, and inliqueurs (such as the opium-basedGodfrey's Cordial), and in homemade liquor to mask strong or unpleasant smells.[18][26] Sassafras oil has also been added to soap and other toiletries.[34] It is banned in the United States for use in commercially mass-produced foods and drugs by theFDA as a potentialcarcinogen.[23]
For a more detailed description of uses by indigenous peoples of North America, and a history of the commercial use ofSassafras albidum by Europeans in the United States in the 16th and 17th centuries, see the article on the extant North American species of sassafras,Sassafras albidum.
In modern times, the sassafras plant has been grown and harvested for the extraction of sassafras oil. It is used in a variety of commercial products or their syntheses, such as the insecticide synergistic compoundpiperonyl butoxide.[41] These plants are primarily harvested for commercial purposes in Asia and Brazil.[42]
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