760 REPORT OF STATE GEOLOGIST. 



LAURACEJE. Laurel Family. 



SASSAFRAS Nees and Eberm. 



S. Sassafras (L.) Karst. Common Sassafras. 



(#. officinale Nees.) 



Widely distributed throughout the State. In the northern 

 counties usually reduced to a* shrub, in the southern and south- 

 western reaching its highest development, occasionally reaching a 

 diameter of five or six. feet with a height of seventy-five feet. It 

 averages, however, from forty to fifty feet in height with a diam- 

 eter of from eighteen to thirty inches. In the localities where it 

 occurs it frequently occupies almost exclusively wide areas. The 

 wood is light and weak, but extremely durable in contact with the 

 soil. It is used for skiffs, yokes, etc., and very largely for posts, 

 rails and cooperage. Every part is aromatic, the root being 

 largely used for its oil. 



Flowers in April and May; fruit ripens in August. 



Tippecanoe (Cunningham); Putnam (MaeDougal); Clark 

 (Baird and Taylor); Jay, Delaware, Randolph, and Wayne (Phin- 

 ney); Gibson and Posey (Schneck); Jefferson (J. M. Coulter); 

 Noble (Van Gorder); Franklin (Meyncke); Dearborn (Collins); 

 Vigo (Blatchley); Kosciusko (Coulter); Hamilton and Marion 

 (Wilson); Steuben (Bradner); Cass (Hessler). 



BENZOIN Fabric. 



B. Benzoin (L ) Coulter. Spice Bush. Wild Allspice. 

 (JAndera Benzoin Blume.) 



An aromatic shrub found in many counties of the State in 

 moist, rich soils in shaded places. 



Flowers in March and April; fruit ripens in August and 

 September. 



Tippecanoe (Cunningham); Jefferson (Barnes); Putnam (Mac- 

 Dougal); Monroe and Vigo (Blatchley); Clark (Baird and Tay- 

 lor); Jay, Delaware, Randolph, and Wayne (Phinney); Gibson and 

 Posey (Schneck); Noble (Van Gorder); Franklin (Meyncke); 

 Dearborn (Collins); Hamilton and Marion (Wilson); Steuben 

 (Bradner); Cass and Fayette (Hessler). 



