Trail Stop 19

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Nature Trails

Cinnamon-wood, Smelling-stick, Saloop

Sassafras tea has been a favorite for more than 400 years. Florida Indians first introduced the tree to the Spanish in the 1500s. Sassafras was the first cash crop of the Virginia colony. It was exported to Europe for is reported "cure-all" purposes. The tea is brewed from the bark of the roots which has a root beer aroma. Dried leaves are powdered into filé, a creole spice used in gumbo. Today, sassafras is used for flavoring medicines, tobacco, root beer, soaps, toothpaste, gum, and perfumes.

Quick ID:
Like red mulberry, three variations of the oval leaves appear on a single tree but the leaf margins are entire and the twigs are greenish.