Plant of the Week 07/10/2006: Sassafras (Sassafras albidum)

Plant of the Week 07/10/2006

Sassafras albidum (Nuttall) Nees

Photographed by: Robert G. Schill
Credits: Sassafras in the Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Wilderness, NC.
Other Information: None

The wonderfully aromatic sassafras (Sassafras albidum (Nuttall) Nees) is native to mixed hardwood forests from the Great Lakes to central Florida and west to eastern Oklahoma and Texas. Very adaptable, the sassafras grows from bottomlands and coastal plains up to 4000 feet in the southern Appalachians. In the northern part of its range, it is small and shrubby; in the southern part, it can attain 90 feet in height. Along with the persimmon, it is a pioneer tree taking over old fence lines and abandoned farm fields.

The sassafras is unique among the hardwoods of North America. It has leaves of three shapes—a plain ovate leaves, leaves with three lobes, and 'mittens' or leaves with a single lobe on one side. The leaves turn intense red in autumn.

Natives in Florida used the twigs as chew sticks, natural toothbrushes that sweetened the breath as well as cleaned the teeth. The Cherokee had the most recorded uses for sassafras. An infusion or tea made from bark of the roots was a tonic to purify the blood, treat colds, rid the intestines of parasites, stop diarrhea, aid in weight loss, ease the pain of rheumatism, cool fevers, and wash sore eyes. Pounded to a pulp, the root bark made a poultice for wounds and severe bruises.

Sassafras may well be the first 'spice' from the New World sent back to Europe by the Spanish. Europeans enjoyed saloop, a mix of milk, sugar, and sassafras. Colonists delighted in root beer, custom blends of herbs, berries, and sassafras root. Commercial root beer did not hit the market until 1876, the Centennial of the U.S.

Sassafras roots and bark are now banned due to the high content of safrole in the oil. Safrole or 1-allyl-3,4-(methylenedioxy)-benzene is a hepatocarcinogen, it alters the DNA of liver cells causing cancer (at least in laboratory rats).

Safrole has a darker side. It is the precursor molecule in the illicit production of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA or Ecstasy) and 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDEA or Eve).

(Compiled from: "Sassafras", Hortus Third, Staff L.H. Bailey Hortorium, NY State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell University, Macmillan, NY, 1976; "Sassafras Tea", Public Information from the BC Cancer Agency, Provincial Health Services Authority, British Columbia, 2004; "Sassafras albidum (Nutt.) Nees", Margene M. Griggs, Silvics Manual, Vol 2, Northeastern Area, Forest Service, USDA; "Safrole", Wikipedia, the Free encyclopedia; and "MDMA (Ecstasy)", National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes on Health, US Department of Health and Human Services)