Sassafras

saturday april 13 2013

spring is busting out in NC. the trees are finally leafing out, the dogwoods bloomed last week and the pollen rain has begun.

sassafras was in full bloom last week on my property. sassafras has long been used as food and medicine and considered a great tonic.

this is the largest of the sassafras trees on my land. this spring is the most impressive bloom I have seen yet. my cell phone didn't do it justice.

I copied the following info about sassafras from mountain rose herbs website:

Also known as

Sassafras albidum

Introduction

Sassafras is a sturdy tree found in the bayous of Louisiana. When the tree is young, its leaves are shaped like "mittens," sometimes with two "thumbs." As the tree matures, sometimes reaching a height of 100 feet (30 meters) and a trunk diameter of up to 6 feet (200 cm), the leaves grow more rounded, free of indentation. Cajun cuisine uses sassafras leaf to make file (FEE-lay), the seasoning and thickening agent for gumbo. The early Cajuns learned to use file' from the Choctaw Indians of the Gulf coast, who evidently used it to thicken soups.

Constituents

Alpha-pinene, anethole, apiole, asarone, beta-sitosterol, boldine, caryophyllene, elemicin, eugenol, mucilage, myristicin, reticule, safrene, safrole, tannins, thujone.

Parts Used

Leaf.

Typical Preparations

The leaf is primarily used to thicken and to season. It should be simmered gently, and never boiled. For convenience it may be used as a tea.

Summary

Sassafras leaf is traditionally used as a thickening and flavoring agent in Gumbo, as well as other Cajun sauces and soups. The leaves have a lightly spicy and a pleasant aromatic scent and flavor. The fresh young leaves are used in salads.

Precautions

The actual analysis of the leaf found as little as 0.09 mg of safrole per cup of sassafras tea, or 99.95% less than reports have found. Later research reported by Dr. Jim Duke found that if all the safrole in the leaf leached into a cup of tea, it would yield about 3 milligrams of safrole, or, 95% less than the recommended maximum. Sassafras should not be used while pregnant and it should not be used for extended periods of time. Its moderate to liberal use in soup and sauces is fine.

This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

The root is also used and the plant's range extends beyond the bayous of Louisiana. root beer was formerly made from the roots but safrole (the oil extracted from sassafras), but was banned in the 1960s after it was force-fed in enormous quantities to lab rats and found to be carcinogenic. Steven Foster and James A. Duke in their book "Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants", state that, "the safrole in a 12-ounce can of old-fashioned root beer is not as carcinogenic as the alcohol (ethanol) in a can of beer."

Personally I have dug up small trees, cut the root into small pieces and made teas and drank it, enjoying every delicious sip. 

the root-bark tea is used as a blood purifier, remedy for stomach aches, gout, arthritis, high blood pressure, rheumatism, kidney ailments, colds, fevers and skin eruptions. 

watch this you tube vid of a man in louisiana grinding file powder: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uafm_V1tj_w

when you go out to collect wild plants always remember be respectful and to give thanks to the spirits and make an offering. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4EBgVyML1M