Sassafras – Sassafras albidum
by Martin (Mort) Schmidt for Simply Living
Sassafras albidum (hereafter, simply Sassafras) is the stuff of root beer – sarsaparilla – or at least it used to be, until we learned that it contained natural carcinogens. Now the flavor is synthesized. Sassafras is a member of the laurel family, together with cinnamon and camphor, which also have aromatic fragrances. Sassafras is no longer prized for its supposed medicinal value, but it remains a favorite tree because of its distinctive leaves, which are recognizable from the time of the dinosaurs, and the pleasant odor in its leaves, bark, and roots.
Sassafras has simple leaves with an alternate arrangement. Simple leaves are attached directly to the tree, compared to compound leaves, on which 3, 5, 7, or some other more or less constant number of leaflets share a stem. Sassafras leaves are attached to the tree in an alternate pattern – left, right, left, right, like a human’s footprints, instead of directly across from each other, like a kangaroo’s. The leaves are pinnately veined, i.e., there is one primary vein with secondary veins attached to it at various points along its length. Palmately-veined leaves have multiple primary veins that converge at the stem.
Sassafras leaves are among the few trees with distinctly different leaf shapes, in this case, four: ovals, right-handed mittens, left-handed mittens, and tridents. The occasional Sassafras tree, especially older ones, have leaves with no lobes. One such tree in the Columbus, Ohio area is located next to the parking lot at the Blendon Woods Nature Center. It has all of the Sassafras traits, including its fruits and flowers, but all or virtually all of the leaves are oval-shaped. Sassafras leaves are typically 3 to 5 inches long, and the leaf margins are entire, i.e., smooth, instead of toothed. The leaves take on an attractive red or orange color in the fall. Mulberries also have leaves with variable numbers of lobes, but the leaf edges have teeth.
Sassafras trees are usually dioecious [die-AY-shuss], i.e., they have male and female flowers on separate trees. The female flowers are greenish yellow in the spring, which in late summer, develop into blue or black berries with a single seed. The berries can sprout immediately, but more often wait until spring. The berry stems (pedicels) turn bright red, and scratching them releases a surprisingly strong volatile odor. Sassafras also frequently sprouts from its roots, and a colony of trees might share a single root system.
Mature Sassafras bark is recognizable, but less obvious than the bark of many other trees. The bark is brown and blocky, somewhat resembling Black Walnut or Persimmon, but with an orange cast, especially in the grooves. Beneath the surface, the bark is distinctly orange, and may have an aromatic smell. The bark of saplings shows much more orange color. Even more diagnostic are the green twigs, which are also fragrant when scratched. The only other Ohio tree that normally has green twigs is Boxelder, which has opposite branching.
Sassafras trees in Ohio are usually small and shrublike, but in southern climates they reach heights of 60 or even 90 feet with a trunk diameter of 1.5 feet or more. Ohio’s Champion, located in Portage County, is 57 feet high, 5.4 feet in diameter, with a crown width of 61 feet.
Except for the rare tree with unlobed leaves, few trees resemble Sassafras. Mulberry leaves also have variable lobes, but the leaves usually have more than four shapes, and they have teeth. The green twigs on Sassafras resemble those of Boxelder, but they have alternate instead of opposite branching.
ID Summary: Oval-, mitten-, and trident-shaped leaves. Green twigs with alternate branching, aromatic when scratched. Blocky brown bark with an orange cast.
Sassafras prefers moist, loose soil with adequate drainage. It prefers open sun and is often found in areas where wind or fire have opened the tree canopy. Sassafras is allelopathic, meaning that it produces chemicals which discourage the growth of other plants. Sassafras albidum, the only species native to North America, grows in most of the eastern U.S. It occurs in most Ohio counties, but because it prefers somewhat acidic soil, Sassafras is absent in part of western Ohio, which has limey bedrock. Trees belonging to the genus Sassafras dates back to the Cretaceous period more than 65 million years ago, when dinosaurs roamed the earth. Fossilized Sassafras leaves are found in western North America and Europe, indicating a once greater geographical spread.
Sassafras lumber has a Janka hardness of 630 lbf and a density of 0.50 g/cc, according to the Wood Database, compared to the median of my list of 73 Ohio trees of 1,075 lbf and 0.64 g/cc. Because it’s a non-conifer, Sassafras is regarded as a hardwood, but like Yellow Buckeye (Aesculus octandra) and Eastern Cottonwood (Populus deltoides), its wood is softer than Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana), a so-called softwood. Although Sassafras isn’t large enough to be a major lumber species, its pleasing fragrance, attractive brown color, and working properties make it popular among woodworkers. It has high durability (rot resistance), making it useful for outdoor projects such as fence posts. Sassafras is not good firewood, because its oils make it hiss and pop when burning.
The Native American Ethnobotany Database lists numerous uses for Sassafras, most of them medicinal. The list of peoples and their uses are too numerous to list, but the most common uses include:
- Blood medicine,
- Anthelmintic (removal of intestinal worms),
- Antidiarrheal,
- Dermatological aid,
- Cold remedy, and,
- Beverage.
The Cherokee used infusions of Sassafras to treat sexually-transmitted diseases. Sassafras bark and wood became extremely popular in Europe for the treatment of STDs, and according to Laura C. Martin’s Red Oaks and Black Birches, the Science and Folklore of Trees, its importance as an export to Europe was once second only to tobacco.
Sassafras root bark is the traditional source of root beer and Sassafras tea. In the 1800s, the soft drink sarsaparilla was believed to have medicinal value. True sarsaparilla was made from the tropical vine Smilax ornata, but in the U.S., it was made from a mixture of Sassafras and Birch. Unfortunately, the distinctive flavor of Sassafras comes from safrole, which is carcinogenic, and true root beer was banned in the U.S. in 1960. Safrole, like nicotine and caffeine, is an antifeedant, and is produced to discourage browsing by insects and other animals. After 1960, safrole was often replaced with another antifeedant, methyl salicylate (oil of wintergreen), which was extracted from Black Birch (Betula lenta, Sweet Birch). Antifeedants not only discourage browsing with their taste, but the release of volatile chemicals sometimes attracts predators that eat browsing insects.
Historically, Sassafras was once a choice wood for making dugout canoes, due to its relative softness, durability, and light weight. Its durability also made it useful for barrel and bucket staves. The settlers sometimes built beds of Sassafras, believing that the wood kept away evil spirits. Orange dye was extracted from Sassafras bark for use on wool. The Natives ground Sassafras leaves into a fine powder for thickening soups. Ground Sassafras is still used by the Cajuns as a thickener known as “filé” to thicken gumbo and stews.
Sassafras leaves provide food for the spicebush swallowtail (Papilio troilus), tiger swallowtail (Papilio glaucus), and the Sassafras mining weevil (Odontopus calceatus). The Sassafras borer (Oberea ruficollis) tunnels beneath the bark, presumably to eat inner bark. Various birds eat Sassafras fruits and spread the seeds. White-tailed deer browse on Sassafras leaves.
Look for this attractive tree with its oval, mitten, and trident leaves. Its green twigs and alternate branching make it recognizable at any time of year. And be sure to chew a leaf and smell a freshly-scratched twig or pedicel for a memorable experience.
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You can also listen to my talks on Ohio Broadleaf Tree Identification on YouTube, Part 1 and Part 2.
