Sassafras albidum
The sassafras tree is easy to identify with its three different leaf shapes — single lobe, mitten, and trident — on the same tree. The leaves and bark are aromatic and an oil from the roots and bark is widely used in soaps and fragrances. The bark on the root was an important export for European explorers as early as the late 16th and 17th centuries, who believed it was a cure-all for various illnesses. This belief originated with Native Americans, who used bark and root tea for medicines for a wide variety of medical conditions. In more recent times, an extract from the root bark was used as the flavoring agent for root beer. Even today, leaves of the sassafras tree are dried and ground to make file, a thickener used in gumbo. The fruit is eaten by numerous songbirds, bears, beavers, rabbits, and squirrels, and deer dine on the twigs and foliage. Sassafras flowers attract pollinators, including the spicebush swallowtail butterfly. The soft wood was used in furniture and boats.
Sponsor: Mountain Music Silvermont Pickers
Photo credits:
- Sassafras, David J. Stang, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Leaves, Kenny Wixted, CC BY-NC 4.0
- Flowers, Jim Robbins, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
- Fruit, JCP Raleigh, CC BY-NC 4.0
- Bark, Steve C., CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
- Fall foliage, P. W. Hatcher, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
