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{{Otheruses4|the Sassafras tree}}
{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = ''Sassafras''
| image = Sassafras7.jpg
| image_width = 240px
| image_caption = ''Sassafras albidum'', <br/>[[Wanaque, New Jersey]]
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Laurales]]
| familia = [[Lauraceae]]
| genus = '''''Sassafras'''''
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision = See text
}}
'''''Sassafras''''' is a genus of four species of [[deciduous]] [[tree]]s in the family [[Lauraceae]], native to eastern [[North America]] and eastern [[Asia]].<ref name=nie>Nie, Z.-L., Wen, J. & Sun, H. (2007). Phylogeny and biogeography of Sassafras (Lauraceae) disjunct between eastern Asia and eastern North America. ''Plant Systematics and Evolution'' 267: 191–203 [http://www.springerlink.com/content/7331p473p057q683/ Abstract.]</ref>
Sassafras trees grow from 15–35 m (50–120 feet) tall and 70–150 cm (2.5–6 feet) in diameter, with many slender branches, and smooth, orange-brown bark. The branching is [[sympodial]]. The bark of the mature trunk is thick, red-brown, and deeply furrowed. The wood is light, soft, weak, and brittle. All parts of the plants are very fragrant. The species are unusual in having three distinct [[leaf]] patterns on the same plant, unlobed oval, bilobed (mitten-shaped), and trilobed (three pronged; rarely the leaves can be five-lobed<ref name=noble>Noble Plant Image Gallery [http://www.noble.org/imagegallery/woodhtml/Sassafras.html Sassafras (includes photo of five-lobed leaf)]</ref>). They have smooth margins and grow 7–20 cm long by 5–10 cm broad. The young leaves and twigs are quite [[mucilage|mucilaginous]], and produce a scent similar to [[lemon]]s when crushed. The tiny, yellow [[flower]]s are five-petaled and bloom in the spring; they are [[plant sexuality|dioecious]], with male and female flowers on separate trees. The [[fruit]] are blue-black, egg-shaped, 1 cm long, produced on long, red-stalked cups, and mature in late summer.<ref name=fna>Flora of North America: [http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=129310 ''Sassafras'']</ref>
The name "Sassafras", applied by the botanist [[Nicolas Monardes]] in the sixteenth century, is said to be a corruption of the [[Spanish language|Spanish]] word for [[saxifrage]].
==Species==
*''[[Sassafras albidum]]'' (Nuttall) Nees - '''Sassafras''', '''White Sassafras''', '''Red Sassafras''' or '''Silky Sassafras'''. Eastern North America, from southernmost [[Ontario]], [[Canada]] through the eastern [[United States]] south to central [[Florida]], and west to southern [[Iowa]] and eastern [[Texas]].
*''[[Sassafras tzumu]]'' (Hemsl.) Hemsl. - '''Chinese Sassafras''' or '''Tzumu'''. Central and southwestern [[China]]. It differs from ''S. albidum'' in the leaves being more frequently three-lobed,<ref name=esveld>Arboretum Trompenburg: [http://www.esveld.nl/plantdias/51/51682.jpg ''Sassafras tzumu'' photo]</ref> the lobes having a tapered acuminate apex (not rounded to weakly acute).
*''[[Sassafras randaiense]]'' (Hayata) Rehd. - '''Taiwan Sassafras'''. [[Taiwan]]. Treated by some botanists in a distinct genus as ''Yushunia randaiensis'' (Hayata) Kamikoti,<ref name=kamikoti>Kamikoti, S. (1933). ''Ann. Rep. Taihoku Bot. Gard''. 3: 78</ref> though this is not supported by recent genetic evidence which shows the genus to be [[monophyly|monophyletic]].<ref name=nie/>
== Uses ==
[[Essential oil]] distilled from the root-bark or the [[fruit]] was used as a [[fragrance]] in [[perfume]]s and [[soap]]s, food (sassafras tea and candy flavoring) and for [[aromatherapy]].
The dried and ground leaves are used to make [[filé powder]], a spice used in the making of some types of [[gumbo]].
It is also used in the manufacture of the drug [[ecstasy]], and as such, its transport is monitored internationally.
The roots of Sassafras was used in the flavoring of root beer until its ban in 1960.
In 1960, the U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned the use of sassafras oil and safrole in foods and drugs based on the animal studies and human case reports. Several years later, the sale of sassafras oil, roots, or tea was prohibited by law. Subsequently, both Canada and the United States have passed laws against the sale of any consumable products (beverages, foods, cosmetics, health products such as toothpaste, and others) that contain more than specific small amounts of [[safrole]].<ref>[http://www.drugdigest.org/DD/PrintablePages/herbMonograph/0,11475,552413,00.html]</ref>
==See also==
* [http://www.drugdigest.org/DD/PrintablePages/herbMonograph/0,11475,552413,00.html Drug Digest Sassafras]
==References==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Laurales]]
[[Category:Herbs]]
[[Category:Medicinal plants]]
{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = ''Sassafras''
| image = Sassafras7.jpg
| image_width = 240px
| image_caption = ''Sassafras albidum'', <br/>[[Wanaque, New Jersey]]
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Laurales]]
| familia = [[Lauraceae]]
| genus = '''''Sassafras'''''
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision = See text
}}
'''''Sassafras''''' is a genus of four species of [[deciduous]] [[tree]]s in the family [[Lauraceae]], native to eastern [[North America]] and eastern [[Asia]].<ref name=nie>Nie, Z.-L., Wen, J. & Sun, H. (2007). Phylogeny and biogeography of Sassafras (Lauraceae) disjunct between eastern Asia and eastern North America. ''Plant Systematics and Evolution'' 267: 191–203 [http://www.springerlink.com/content/7331p473p057q683/ Abstract.]</ref>
Sassafras trees grow from 15–35 m (50–120 feet) tall and 70–150 cm (2.5–6 feet) in diameter, with many slender branches, and smooth, orange-brown bark. The branching is [[sympodial]]. The bark of the mature trunk is thick, red-brown, and deeply furrowed. The wood is light, soft, weak, and brittle. All parts of the plants are very fragrant. The species are unusual in having three distinct [[leaf]] patterns on the same plant, unlobed oval, bilobed (mitten-shaped), and trilobed (three pronged; rarely the leaves can be five-lobed<ref name=noble>Noble Plant Image Gallery [http://www.noble.org/imagegallery/woodhtml/Sassafras.html Sassafras (includes photo of five-lobed leaf)]</ref>). They have smooth margins and grow 7–20 cm long by 5–10 cm broad. The young leaves and twigs are quite [[mucilage|mucilaginous]], and produce a scent similar to [[lemon]]s when crushed. The tiny, yellow [[flower]]s are five-petaled and bloom in the spring; they are [[plant sexuality|dioecious]], with male and female flowers on separate trees. The [[fruit]] are blue-black, egg-shaped, 1 cm long, produced on long, red-stalked cups, and mature in late summer.<ref name=fna>Flora of North America: [http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=129310 ''Sassafras'']</ref>
The name "Sassafras", applied by the botanist [[Nicolas Monardes]] in the sixteenth century, is said to be a corruption of the [[Spanish language|Spanish]] word for [[saxifrage]].
==Species==
*''[[Sassafras albidum]]'' (Nuttall) Nees - '''Sassafras''', '''White Sassafras''', '''Red Sassafras''' or '''Silky Sassafras'''. Eastern North America, from southernmost [[Ontario]], [[Canada]] through the eastern [[United States]] south to central [[Florida]], and west to southern [[Iowa]] and eastern [[Texas]].
*''[[Sassafras tzumu]]'' (Hemsl.) Hemsl. - '''Chinese Sassafras''' or '''Tzumu'''. Central and southwestern [[China]]. It differs from ''S. albidum'' in the leaves being more frequently three-lobed,<ref name=esveld>Arboretum Trompenburg: [http://www.esveld.nl/plantdias/51/51682.jpg ''Sassafras tzumu'' photo]</ref> the lobes having a tapered acuminate apex (not rounded to weakly acute).
*''[[Sassafras randaiense]]'' (Hayata) Rehd. - '''Taiwan Sassafras'''. [[Taiwan]]. Treated by some botanists in a distinct genus as ''Yushunia randaiensis'' (Hayata) Kamikoti,<ref name=kamikoti>Kamikoti, S. (1933). ''Ann. Rep. Taihoku Bot. Gard''. 3: 78</ref> though this is not supported by recent genetic evidence which shows the genus to be [[monophyly|monophyletic]].<ref name=nie/>
== Uses ==
[[Essential oil]] distilled from the root-bark or the [[fruit]] was used as a [[fragrance]] in [[perfume]]s and [[soap]]s, food (sassafras tea and candy flavoring) and for [[aromatherapy]].
The dried and ground leaves are used to make [[filé powder]], a spice used in the making of some types of [[gumbo]].
It is also used in the manufacture of the drug [[ecstasy]], and as such, its transport is monitored internationally.
The roots of Sassafras was used in the flavoring of root beer until its ban in 1960.
In 1960, the U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned the use of sassafras oil and safrole in foods and drugs based on the animal studies and human case reports. Several years later, the sale of sassafras oil, roots, or tea was prohibited by law. Subsequently, both Canada and the United States have passed laws against the sale of any consumable products (beverages, foods, cosmetics, health products such as toothpaste, and others) that contain more than specific small amounts of [[safrole]].<ref>[http://www.drugdigest.org/DD/PrintablePages/herbMonograph/0,11475,552413,00.html]</ref>
==See also==
* [http://www.drugdigest.org/DD/PrintablePages/herbMonograph/0,11475,552413,00.html Drug Digest Sassafras]
==References==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Laurales]]
[[Category:Herbs]]
[[Category:Medicinal plants]]
