| Who Put the Root in Root Beer? |
| Location: Along path to
Molyet Village |
| This small deciduous tree that has
leaves resembling mittens is Sassafras, Sassafras albidum. It belongs
to the Laurel Family (Lauraceae). Growing from Texas to Maine, and as far west to Mississippi, Sassafras trees reach an average height of 20-30 feet. The bark’s color is grey and feels rough, turning up at the edges to create deep channels. Young twigs are bright green. When spring comes, the flowers appear before the leaves. The small flowers in showy clusters are greenish yellow, and reproduce a blue, pea-sized fruit. The fruit is a drupe that is eaten by songbirds. Bright green leaves of the Sassafras come in three different shapes: oval, 2-lobed resembling mittens, and a symmetrical 3-lobed leaf. The leaves are 2-6 inches long and are positioned alternately on the tree’s stems. Sassafras is a great shade provider that often grows on the forest edge. During autumn the tree shines with beautiful yellow, orange, and red leaves. In the winter the tree is still eye appealing with its impressive symmetry. Native Americans called the tree Green Twig and were the first to use sassafras’s root bark. They made sassafras tea which was used as an antiseptic, stimulant, fever reducer, syphilis cure, and constipation reliever. Colonists used sassafras roots instead of barley, which wasn’t plentiful, to create small beer (root beer). Sassafras oil was also used as a food flavoring. The leaves can be ground into a File powder that is used in New Orleans Cajun dishes still today. -- Jody Kuhn
|
| Return
to top of Nature Sign List |
Return to D.
Kramer Web Site |