Description
Sassafras ( not related to Australian sassafras ) , Sassafras albidum ... Attractive lemon coloured flowers appear in clusters at the branch ends in spring ... Flowers on female trees give way to small pendant clusters of bluish-black berries which are in scarlet cup-like receptacles on scarlet stalks ... Fruit mature in Autumn ... The 4-7" long leaves in three shapes (ovate, mitten-shaped and three-lobed) are bright green above and glaucous (albidum equals white) below ... Excellent yellow purple and red autumn color ... Native Americans used sassafras oils in tonics as medical panaceas ... Culinary uses include : sassafras tea (bark), root beer flavoring (root oil) and a gumbo-thickening agent called filé (stem pith)... More recently, sassafras oils have been seen to contain a carcinogenic substance (safrole), many previous uses for the oils are banned by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ... Know too reach 10-20 Metres in height, they often are much less, forming tall thickets ... Native to Eastern North America