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Sassafras albidum
Also called Mitten tree, White Sassafras, Silky Sassifras, Poor Man's Oak, Cinnamon Wood, Mittenleaf
Sassafras albidum is a medium-sized deciduous tree native to eastern North America, known for its distinctive three-lobed leaves and aromatic bark used in root beer and filé powder. It grows best in moist, well-drained soil in full sun, and it sends up root suckers that can form new trees.
Sassafras albidum (sassafras, white sassafras, red sassafras, or silky sassafras) is a species of Sassafras native to eastern North America. It has a number of culinary and other uses.
The species is native to eastern North America, from southern Maine and southern Ontario west to Iowa, and south to central Florida and eastern Texas. It occurs throughout the eastern deciduous forest habitat type, at altitudes of up to 1,500 m (4,900 ft) above sea level. It formerly also occurred in southern Wisconsin, but is extirpated there as a native tree.
All parts of the plant have been used by humans, including the stems, leaves, bark, wood, roots, fruit, and flowers. While native to North America, it is significant to the economic, medical, and cultural history of both Europe and North America. In North America, it has particular culinary significance, being featured in distinct national foods such as traditional root beer, filé powder, and Louisiana Cajun cuisine. It was an important plant to many Native Americans of the southeastern United States and was used for many purposes, including culinary and medicinal purposes, before the arrival of Europeans, when the foreigners were first introduced to sassafras (along with other plants such as cranberries, tobacco, and American ginseng).
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Sassafras albidum by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
