BY JOSEPH LAUTERER, M.D. 21 



To ascertain whether a trade could be established by distilling 

 the oil contained in our Sassafras trees is the object of this 

 paper. We have three trees in Queensland which are thought 

 io contain the oil. The first of them, Donjphora Sassafras, helongs 

 to Monimiaceae and occurs nowhere elsebut in N.S.W. and Queens- 

 land. In the Pharmaceutical Journal (I.e.) Prof. Fliickiger puts it 

 down erroneously as being the " Sassafras of New Caledonia." 

 The tree grows on the Logan River ; is of considerable size, but of 

 irregular growth ; glabrous, with petiolate ovate elliptical acumi- 

 nate, coarse-toothed leaves 2-4 inches long ; flowers 3 together 

 on short peduncles hermaphrodite, with campanulate 6 segmented 

 perianth tube. 



The nearest relation to this tree is Atherospenna moschata, 

 a Sassafras tree occurring in Victoria, New South Wales, and 

 Tasmania, but not in Queensland. It is a large-sized tree with 

 •decussate willow-like leaves and single dioecious flowers. 

 According to Fliickiger the bark of this tree is often met with in 

 the London market under the name of Victorian Sassafras. The 

 oil is lighter than that of the American Sassafras and boils 

 only at 224 (American oil at 115) Centigrades. Bosisto and the 

 doctors in Melbourne (Pharm. Journal, 1887) believed that this 

 oil was very poisonous, 2 drops being sufficient to cause death 

 from paralysis of the heart. Stockman in Edinburgh (Pharm. 

 Journal, 1892, p. 512) refuted this opinion, taking repeatedly 10 

 minims of the oil with no more effect than if it had been oil of 

 Eucalypt. 



The other two Queensland Sassafras trees belong to the 

 order of the laurels (Laurine®) which is nearly related to Moni- 

 miaceae. The first of them, yesodaphne obtusifolia, is limited to 

 Eastern Australia and is also called Beibchmidiu obtusifolia. 

 It is a large and handsome tree with glabrous alternate oval 

 oblong leaves, 4 inches long ; the flowers in large and broad 

 <;ymes are hermaphrodite and have 6 perianth segments, 9 

 stamens, 3 staminodea, and one pistil. 



Now an error runs through the whole pharmaceutical 

 literature (Pharm. Journal, 1886, p. 989) purporting that it was 

 this Nesodaphne obtusifolia from which the late Dr. Joseph Ban- 

 croft obtained the bark which was sent to the Colonial and 



