LAUREL FAMILY, 519 
AvaBaMa: Central Prairie region to Coast plain. Swampy alluvial forests. Mont- 
gomery, Escambia, Baldwin, and Mobile counties. Flowers white, June; fruit pur- 
plish black (plum purple), September, October. Tree 60 to 70 feet high. Appears 
to be in the Gulf zecion less frequent than in the South Atlantic States. Full-sized 
trees rarely met with. 
Type locality: ‘‘ Hab. in Carolina, Virginia.” 
Economic uses: Timber tree. 
Herb. Geol. Surv. Herb. Mohr. 
Persea pubescens (Pursh) Sargent, Silv. N. A. 5:7, t. 302. 1895. Swamp Rep Bay. 
Laurus carolinensis var. pubescens Pursh, Fl. Am. Sept. 1:276, 1814. 
Persea carolinensis var. palustris Chap. F1. 393. 1860. 
Chap. FI. 1. ¢. 
_Louisianian area. North Carolina along the coast region to Florida and Missis- 
sippi. 
ALABAMA: Lower Pine region. Coast plain. Alluvial river swamps and pine- 
barren ponds. Mobile, Baldwin, and Escambia counties. Flowers white, June; 
fruit purplish black, October. 
Shrubby in poor sandy pine barrens; on rich borders of streams and in alluvial 
forests a tree from 50 to 60 feet high and 12 to 16 inches in diameter, or frequently a 
large shrub. 
Type locality: ‘‘In deep cedar and cypress swamps: Virginia to Louisiana.” 
Economic uses: Valuable for the wood. 
Herb. Geol. Surv. Herb. Mohr. 
SASSAFRAS Nees & Eberm. Handb. Ph. Bot. 2:418. 1831. 
One species, temperate North America. 
Sassafras sassafras (L.) Karst. Deutsch. F1.505. 1882. SASSAFRAS. 
Laurus sassafras L. Sp. P1l.1:371. 1753. 
Sassafras officinale Nees & Eberm. Handb. Ph. Bot. 2: 418. 1831. 
Ell. Sk.1:464. Gray,“Man. ed. 6, 447. Chap. Fl. 394. Coulter, Contr. Nat. Herb. 
2: 383. 
Alleghenian to Louisianian area. Ontario; eastern Massachusetts to southeastern 
Iowa and eastern Kansas, south to western Florida, and through the Gulf States to 
the Brazos Valley, Texas, Indian Territory, and Arkansas. 
ALABAMA: Throughout the State. Light and rich soil. Woodlands and in the 
open; of best development in the rich forests of the ‘Tennessee Valley and upper 
Alabama River. Flowers yellowish, April. Fruit purplish black, September, 
October. 
On poor soil rarely above medium size; in rich bottom lands 70 to 80 feet high and 
2 feet in diameter. 
Economic uses: Timber tree. The bark of the root is used medicinally—‘‘Sassa- 
fras,” United States Pharmacopoia. 
Type locality: ‘Hab. in Virginia, Carolina, Florida.” 
Herb. Geol. Surv. Herb. Mohr. 
BENZOIN Fabr. Enum. P1. Hort. Helmst. 1763. Ponp SPICE. 
(LINDERA Thunb. Diss. Nov. Gen. 3:44. 1783.) 
Ten species. Eastern Asia. Eastern North America, 2. 
Benzoin benzoin (L.) Coulter, Mem. Torr. Club, 5:164. 1894, 
SPICEWOOD. FEVERBUSH. 
Laurus benzoin L. Sp. P1.1:370. 1753. 
Benzoin aestivale and B. odoriferum Nees, Syst. 495. 1832. 
Lindera benzoin Blume, Mus. Bot. Lugd.1:324, 1857. 
EIL Sk. 1:463. Gray, Man. ed. 6,447. Chap. Fl. 394. Conlter, Contr. Nat. Herb. 
2 :383. 
Alleghenian to Louisianian area. Ontario; eastern Massachusetts west to Michi- 
gan and Missouri, south to Florida and central Texas. 
ALABAMA: Tennesseé Valley to Central Prairie region. Low shady woods. Madi- 
son, Hale, and Wilcox counties. Flowers greenish, March. Fruit scarlet, Septem- 
ber. Shrub 4 to 6 feet high. Not rare in the prairie region. 
Type locality: ‘Hab. in Virginia,” 
Herb, Geol. Surv. Herb. Mohr. 
