SASSAFRAS 261 



spheroidal or polygonal and frequently with a distinct cleft and from 

 0.003 to 0.020 mm. in diameter, some of the smaller or altered grains 

 attaining a diameter of 0.030 mm. ; bast fibers spindle-shaped, occa- 

 sionally very irregular in outline, with sharply pointed ends, from 

 0.150 to 0.400 mm. in length, 0.025 mm. in diameter, and with very 

 thick, strongly lignified walls; parenchyma cells containing either 

 starch grains or irregular yellowish-red masses of tannin and becom- 

 ing bluish-black upon the addition of solutions of ferric chloride, 

 fragments of wood few, with large, thin-walled trachea marked by 

 simple pores and associated with rather thin-walled wood-fibers. 

 The stem bark contains groups of bast fibers and stone cells, and the 

 parenchymatous cells contain chloroplastids. 



Constituents. Volatile oil 5 to 9 per cent; tannin about 6 per 

 cent; a reddish-brown altered tannin compound (sassafrid) about 

 9 per cent; resin and starch. 



The principal constituent of the volatile oil is safrol. The oil 

 from the leaves differs essentially in composition from that of the 

 root bark, containing linalool and geraniol. 



Allied Plants. Other plants of this family also yield a volatile 

 oil containing safrol, as Beilschmiedia oppositifolia of Queensland 

 and New South Wales; Mespilodaphne Sassafras and Nectandra 

 Puchury-minor, both of Brazil. 



SASSAFRAS MEDULLA. Sassafras Pith. The pith of young 

 stems and branches of Sassafras variifolium (Fam. Lauraceae) a 

 tree indigenous to eastern North America. The pith is collected 

 late in autumn, after frost, and dried. 



Description. In sub-cylindrical, often curved or coiled pieces 

 from 2 to 10 cm. in length and from 2 to 5 mm. in diameter; very 

 light in weight, externally whitish, occasionally with small fragments 

 of wood adhering; fracture short; with a slight odor of sassafras; 

 taste mucilaginous. 



Inner Structure. For illustration of structure of walls, consult 

 Kraemer's Applied and Economic Botany, p. 263. 



Transverse sections show that it consists of nearly isodiametric 

 cells with large intercellular spaces, the walls being more or less 

 lignified and provided with numerous simple pores; mounts made 

 in water show the separation of a thin layer of mucilage from the 

 inner walls of the cells, this being characterized by the, gradual dis- 

 appearance of the pores. The cells occasionally contain sphenoidal 

 microcrystals of calcium oxalate. 



Constituents. The principal constituent is the mucilage, which 

 is not precipitated by alcohol; it also contains a trace of volatile oil. 



