Sassafras
168033
226021229
2008-07-16T13:58:19Z
Kingdon
668610
clean up species list per the sources; be more explicit about which genus is monophyletic
{{Otheruses4|the Sassafras tree}}
{{Taxobox
| name = ''Sassafras''
| image = Sassafras7.jpg
| image_caption = ''Sassafras albidum'', <br/>[[Wanaque, New Jersey]]
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Angiospermae]]
| unranked_classis = [[magnoliid]]
| ordo = [[Laurales]]
| familia = [[Lauraceae]]
| genus = '''''Sassafras'''''
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision =
''[[Sassafras albidum|S. albidum]]''<br />
''[[Sassafras randaiense|S. randaiense]]''<br />
''[[Sassafras tzumu|S. tzumu]]''
}}
'''''Sassafras''''' is a genus of three<ref name="fna"/><ref name="nie"/> 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 photo]</ref> the lobes having a tapered acuminate apex (not rounded to weakly acute).
*''[[Sassafras randaiense]]'' (Hayata) Rehd. - '''Taiwanese 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 ''Sassafras'' to be [[monophyly|monophyletic]].<ref name=nie/>
== Uses ==
Steam distillation of dried root bark produces an [[essential oil]] consisting mostly of [[safrole]] that once was extensively used as a [[fragrance]] in [[perfume]]s and [[soap]]s, food and for [[aromatherapy]]. The yield of this oil from American sassafras is quite low and great effort is needed to produce useful amounts of the root bark. Commercial "sassafras oil" generally is a by product of camphor production in Asia or comes from related trees in Brazil. Safrole is a precursor for the clandestine manufacture of the drug [[Methylenedioxymethamphetamine|ecstasy]], and as such, its transport is monitored internationally.
The dried and ground leaves are used to make [[filé powder]], a spice used in the making of some types of [[gumbo]].
The roots of Sassafras can be steeped to make tea and were used in the flavoring of [[root beer]] until being banned by the FDA. Laboratory animals that were given oral doses of sassafras tea or sassafras oil that contained safrole developed permanent liver damage or various types of cancer. In humans, liver damage can take years to develop and it may not have obvious signs.
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 EDrug Digest].</ref>
Sassafras tea can also be used as blood thinner.
Sassafras was a commodity prized in Europe as a cure for [[Gonorrhea]]<ref>[[Tony Horwitz]], A Voyage Long and Strange, Henry Holt, 2008, pp. 3-6</ref>.
==See also==
* [http://www.drugdigest.org/DD/PrintablePages/herbMonograph/0,11475,552413,00.html Drug Digest Sassafras]
* [[Atherospermataceae |Atherospermataceae]], The trees in this Southern Hemisphere family are known by the same common name.
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Herbs & spices}}
[[Category:Laurales]]
[[Category:Herbs]]
[[Category:Medicinal plants]]
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