Maud Gordon Holmes Arboretum

Scientific name: Sassafras albidum

Common name: sassafras

Native: Yes

Native range: Native to the eastern and central United States [4].

Distribution in North America: Click to view the USDA Plants Database page for S. matsudana.

USDA Zones: 5-9 [6]

Maximum age: Lives to 100 years on average, but may live up to 500 years [7].

Ecology: The fruits are consumed by birds and small mammals. Bears, beavers, and deer consume the fruits, twigs, and bark [1,2,4]. It hosts a number of native moths and butterflies, including swallowtail butterflies (Papilio spp.), and the io moth (Automeris io) [8].

Ethnobotany: Indigenous Americans use the plant for a variety of medicinal purposes, as a fragrance in soaps, a flavoring in soups, a source of fiber for crafting, and a source of wood for building [1,2,5]. It was used as the base for rootbeer until 1960, when it was determined to have carcinogenic properties [3].