LAURACEAE 183 



ville in lOOG I saw a good many of the latter aljout S inches in 

 diameter and 20 feet tall (above the ground), which ninst have 

 been cut somewhere near by. Wailes, in his report on the geology 

 and agriculture of Mississippi (1854, p. 353), says that it was in 

 great demand in that state for shingles, and large trees had already 

 become scarce. It is occasionally cultivated for ornament, in re- 

 gions where it is not too common naturally. 



The natural habitat of the sassafras seems to be on bluffs and 

 river-banks, but like several other species associated with it, it runs 

 wild in old fields and along roadsides, which are as well protected 

 from fire as its native haunts. (It is probably not as sensitive 

 to fire as some of our other trees, though.) It is widely distrib- 

 uted in those parts of the state where farming is carried on ex- 

 tensively, and more than 10% of the area was cultivated in cotton 

 in 1880. In regions -4 and 6B it seems to grow wild in the pine 

 forests, but only as a low shrub, perhaps because fires are too fre- 

 quent there to allow it to develop into a tree; and as it seldom if 

 ever blooms luider such conditions, the seeds must be continually 

 brought by birds from other regions. Some of the largest known 

 native specimens are in regions 2B and 6A, in Tuscaloosa County. 

 Native specimens seem to be rare south of the black belt. 



BENZOIN, Fabricius. Spice-wood. Spice-bush. 



Benzoin aestivale (L.) Nees. {Lindcra Benzoin, Blume) 



An aromatic deciduous shrub, with small yellow flowers ap- 

 pearing in early spring before the leaves, and red berries in fall. 

 Sometimes cultivated for ornament. The berries and bark are 

 medicinal, but not officinal. In Marengo County I have been told 

 that a decoction of the twigs is used for a beverage by the negroes. 



Grows in rich or damp woods ; not common in Alabama, 

 where it seems to prefer calcareous soils. 



IB. Jackson and Marshall Counties. 

 2A. On Monte Sano, Madison County. 



2B. Rich ravine near Tidewater (Lock 13), Tuscaloosa County. 

 6C or 7. Hale County (Mohr). 



8. Hammock of Chickasawbogue Creek, Marengo County, 

 low. Wilcox County (Mohr). South of Searcy. Butler County. Rich 

 woods northeast of Claiborne, Monroe County. 

 11. Near Salt Creek, Clarke County. 



