Botanical name: Sassafras albidum

Other names: Sassy, Sassafras tree

Family: Lauraceae; Cinnamomeae Tribe 

Distribution: Canada, USA

ORIGIN: USA

North American Indians were already using this incense for a stimulant, tonic, and medicinal purposes. In 1582, sassafras wood was included in lists of German medicines under the names lignum pauamum, lignum floridum, and sassafrasbaum.

The name sassafras is apparently a corruption of the Spanish word for the genus Saxifraga, which the Spanish botanist Monardes coined in the 16th century. Even into the 20th century, a sassafras tea with milk and sugar known as saloop was sold on many London street corners in the early mornings.

During the American Civil War, the root cortex was used as a substitute for Chinese tea. Until recently, it was also used in the United States as a flavouring agent in root beer, a nonalcoholic soft drink. In the southern states, dried, young leaves are used as a spice in gumbo, a Creole dish.