Updated 04-May-2020.
Mondo shtuff from around the internet, all about SASSAFRAS!
My botty best at summarizing from Wikipedia: the genus is distinguished by its aromatic properties, which have made the tree useful to humans . the species is unusual in having three distinct leaf patterns on the same plant . three-lobed leaves are more common in Sas the largest known sassafras tree in the world is in Owensboro, Kentucky . the fruit is a drupe, blue-black when ripe . some sources claim it originate Sassafras trees are not within the family Saxifragaceae . early European colonists reported that the plant was called winauk by Native Americans in Delaware and Virginia . Native Americans distinguished between Taiwanese sassafras is treated by some botanists in a distinct genus as Yushunia randaiensis (Hayata) Kamiko in temperate climates, the dry season is due to the inability of the plant to absorb water available only in the form of ice . sassafras is commonly found in open woods, carey and Gill rate its value to wildlife as fair, their lowest rating . sassafras leaves and twigs are consumed by white-tailed deer and porcupines . other bobwhite quail, eastern kingbirds, great crested flycatchers, phoebes, wild turkeys, gray catbirds eat sassafras fruits . methods of cooking with sassafras combine this ingredient native to America with traditional North American, as well as European, culinary techniques . some modern researchers conclude that the oil, roots and bark of ss parts of sassafras plant have been used to treat “scurvy, skin sores, kidney problems” before the 20th century, Sassaras enjoyed a great reputation the durable and beautiful wood of sassafras plants has been used in shipbuilding and furniture-making . it was also used by Native Americans in the southeastern united states as a fire-start sassafras oil is banned in the united states as a potential carcinogen . it is used in a variety of commercial products or their syntheses . modern times, the s