Sassafras

Sassafras is a tree or shrub (Sassafras officinale) of the Lauraceae family. It was probably introduced to Europe from Florida.

A toxic oil, safrol, distilled from the root-bark or the fruit is used as a fragrance in perfumes and soaps. The root bark is also used to make tea. A yellow dye is obtained from the wood. The shoots are used to make root beer (formerly alcoholic, but now a soft drink). The leaves are used for thickening sauces and soups, and when dried and ground are known as filé powder, a spice used in Cajun, Creole, and other Louisiana cooking, such as the dish filé gumbo. The pith is used in the US to soothe eye inflammation and ease catarrh. Although sassafras can serve many useful purposes, safrol is now recognized by the USDA as a carcinogen. In large quantities sassafras may act as a hallucinogen.

Sassafras is unusual in having three distinct leaf patterns on the same plant.

Scientific classification

Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Laurales Family: Lauraceae Genus: Sassafras Species: officinale