Sassafrasses

Before the Civil War, Native Americans and East Coast settlers made sassafras each spring by boiling new maple sugar sap, then adding sassafras roots and simmering for a time. The bark and roots contain the highest concentration of oil. These are steeped to make a deep red sassafras tea given as a diuretic to treat sickness caused from drinking polluted water. It could also be used as a yellow-orange dye. In later years sassafras flavoring became a useful ingredient in the making of root beer and as a scent in perfumes and soaps.