482 
AN  ESSAY  ON  SASSAFRAS  OFFICINALE. 
height  and  size.  When  it  occurs  in  dense  woods  it  often  attains 
a  great  height,  with  a  thin,  almost  vine-like  trunk,  owing  to  the 
strong  necessity  of  light  to  the  health  of  the  foliage.  When 
standing  separately,  in  good  soil,  sassafras  assumes  a  beautiful 
symmetrical  form,  being  round  headed,  the  foliage  being  almost 
wholly  on  the  extremities  of  the  branches  or  branchlets,  which  are 
exceedingly  contorted,  but  radiating  in  all  directions,  and,  where 
visible,  contrasting  their  grayish-brown  color  with  the  rich  foliage. 
Sassafras  was  separated  from  Laurus,  by  Nees  v.  JSsenbecJc, 
and  placed  in  a  new  genus,  Sassafras.  It  belongs  to  the  natural 
order  Lauraceae ;  it  is  diaecious,  only  the  female  flowering  trees 
bearing  fruit.  The  flowers  appear  early  in  May  in  Latitude  40° 
N.,  but  much  earlier  at  the  south,  and  are  one  of  the  harbingers 
of  spring.  They  are  somewhat  aromatic,  and  by  some  esteemed 
medicinal,  have  a  greenish-yellow  color,  bloom  in  short  racemes, 
several  of  which  issue  from  the  end  of  each  flowering  branch, 
around  the  leaf  bud,  and  belong  to  Enneandria  monogynia  of  the 
sexual  system.  The  fruit  is  a  drupe  about  the  size  of  a  pea,  oval 
in  shape,  deep  blue  when  mature,  and  supported  on  a  red,  cup- 
shaped  pedicel  that  attains  its  color  while  the  drupe  is  yet 
green.  The  drupe  contains  an  acrid  balsamic  juice  whilst  in  its 
immature  state. 
The  leaves  are  the  most  beautiful  feature  of  this  tree,  being 
deep  rich  green  above  and  paler  beneath,  with  well-marked  pro- 
minent veins,  three  of  which  radiate  from  the  petiole  and  form 
the  central  ribs  of  the  trilobate  leaves.  On  the  old  trees  the 
leaves  are  darker  than  on  young  plants,  and  are  more  savory  of 
sassafras,  but  less  mucilaginous  when  chewed.  They  vary  much 
in  shape,  the  lobed  full  grown  leaves  being  five  to  six  and  a  half 
inches  long  by  four  inches  wide.  Some  of  the  leaves  are  ovate 
lanceolate,  at  other  times  the  terminal  and  only  one  lateral  lobe 
are  developed,  and  these  various  forms  are  nearly  always  found 
together  in  each  terminal  group  of  leaves.  They  are  frequently 
attacked  by  insects,  and  at  such  points  become  reddish-brown  or 
rust-colored.  The  young  branches  near  the  leaves  have  a  green- 
ish-brown color,  whilst  the  new  shoots  are  green,  without  any 
brown  coloring  matter.  Branches  from  half  an  inch  and  upwards 
in  diameter  have  a  thin  gray  rugged  epidermis,  often  spotted 
