ABSTRACT
Sassafras is native to eastern North America, reaching northward to southern Ontario and southern Maine, and southward to Texas and Florida. The species occurs in rich soils in deciduous woods and forests, old fields, along fencerows, and in disturbed sites. It grows best in well drained, sandy loams, with good exposure to light. Root sprouts frequently arise from the base of the tree and generate new trees, this mode of vegetative reproduction often resulting in thickets. The inner bark of sassafras, especially from the roots, is a source of oil of sassafras, which was once the chief flavor ingredient of the uniquely American “root beer.” Oil of sassafras became obsolescent in the early 1960s when it was appreciated that its main component, the chemical safrole, is carcinogenic, causing liver cancer in the small intestine of experimental mice. Oil of sassafras has even caused abortions.
