Most of the trees around St. Louis are still green, but the sassafras is bright red. “Most of what we sell goes to Europe, predominately Italy. ]]> its uses range from furniture to fragrances to root beer. While sassafras is lower in strength than ash, the two are similar in many respects. Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. Sassafras is catego-rized as a Prime Farmland Soil, which means it is one of the most productive soils in the state in agriculture and forestry. 'dimension1': 'Sassafras', Native Americans and early settlers considered sassafras to be a cure all for all sorts of ailments. Sassafras is a tall shrub or tree that produces three shapes of leaves: a mitten-shaped leaf with one large lobe and a small "thumb"; an oval leaf, and a three-lobed leaf. Mill them just a couple weeks before they are needed to reduce cracking. It is one of the first trees to start turning and has few rivals in the color department. in diameter. Sassafras is the ideal tree for a school leaf project because it has three leaf shapes. All parts of the plants are fragrant. In the northernmost sections of its range, sassafras exists as a low, understory shrub with trunk diameters of only 6 to 8 inches. Enable JavaScript to see Google Maps. ]]> Sassafras has a variety of names, from cinnamon wood to red sassafras to golden elm and saxifraxtree. Graban said the U.S. market does purchase some sassafras. Share your thoughts with us in the comments below. Sassafras is the primary ingredient in traditional root beer as well as being used in the production of MDMA(ecstasy) and MDA. The root and root bark were formerly used medicinally. Author Donald Culross Peattie writes in A Natural History of Trees of Eastern and Central North America, “In West Virginia, it is believed that sassafras hen-roosts keep out chicken lice.” Sorry, I don’t know of medical purposes for sassafras. Three-lobed leaves are more common in Sassafras tzumu and Sassafras randaiense than in their North American counterparts, although three-lobed leaves do so… If you are interested in custom work, please call for an appointment. Sassafras is one my favorite trees. Location The sassafras tree hails from the eastern United States, where it grows naturally in hardwood forests, dry woods and abandoned fields from Maine to Texas. //--> They are usually small and crooked, reaching wherever possible to get to the light, but occasionally they are big and straight. Sassafras trees grow from 9–35 m (30–115 ft) tall with many slender sympodial branches, and smooth, orange-brown bark or yellow bark. Sassafras is a very durable wood and high in shock resistance. click on a thumbnail to view an image, or see all the Sassafras thumbnails at the Plants Gallery ©Larry Allain. The sassafras is a medium-sized, deciduous tree with bright green, mitten-like leaves. Sassafras is one of those trees surrounded by legend and lore. sassafras is in the avocado family. Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Do Not Plant the Sassafras Tree in a Wide Open Location. “The sassafras we sell in the United States is usually used for kitchen cabinets. Have something to say? ( Log Out /  Until more research is done, sassafras leaf shapes remain a mystery. We have green lumber, air-dried and kiln dried lumber as well as lower grades available. Chicken roosts built of sassafras were reputed to be lice-free. But its real claim to fame might be a result of its storied byproducts, not the commercial timber uses. The sassafras can be expected to grow in Hardiness Zones 4–9. Sassafras leaves are 4 to 6 inches long with three distinct leaf forms. If you thought the leaves smelled, just wait until you have a nose full of sassafras sawdust. Everyone always asks what I do. But sassafras tea contains a lot of safrole, the chemical in sassafras that makes it poisonous. If you have a photograph of a piece that you have built out of sassafras, please let me know, so I can share it with others (I promise not to take all of the credit). It grows from 30–59 ft tall and spreads 25–39 ft. The tree has also been imported to Europe, probably by the Spaniards who discovered it in Florida. That scent will linger in your head for days, but it will remind you that you have some of the best-working wood in your hands. “It was once supposed to possess miraculous healing powers and people believed that it would renew the youth of the human race. Scott can be reached at 314-574-6036. Aids to Identification: Sassafras is a decidious tree which usually ranges in size from 3-10 m (up to 25 m south of Maine). We offer local high-grade hardwood lumber milled by us. It’s a pretty wood and it smells great when it is freshly cut.” Graban added that chestnut no longer exists as a commercial timber in the United States because of the chestnut blight that devastated domestic supplies. Hardwoods from St. Charles & St. Louis (Live-edge slabs, lumber and woodworking). Sassafras - Sassafras albidum Native Range Border Related Maps. The Division of Forestry promotes and applies management for the sustainable use and protection of Ohio’s private and public forest lands. The wood, which continues to be used in furniture, was often used in flooring and bedsteads because people believed the sassafras fragrance would drive away bedbugs and other pesky insects. com.realmagnet.MagnetLeads.init('OrfhmQgk6sGIKGvE9vw'); Sassafras grows in woodlands in rich sandy well-drained soil from Maine to Florida, reaching a height of about 75 ft (25 m). It grows well in moist, well drained, or sandy loam soils but may tolerate a variety of soil types. Sassafras Tree. The two species are closely related in looks and property and are often sold as sassafras. They may be entire (not lobed), or two-to three-lobed on the same tree or branch. The trunk grows 28–59 in.