Sassafras in Georgia - Moravians and Clipper Ships

Sassafras from Georgia
to Europe in The Great Clipper Ships.

Transporting Sassafras to Make People's Fortunes

The Moravians in Georgia depended on sassafras for health. They made a beer from it, to their great benefit. Where they could not drink the water, or where legs and feet became swollen, the brew was the thing. See the historic account at ://www.fullbooks.com/The-Moravians-in-Georgia-1735-1740-by2.html/ "Palatable and healthful." Is that our root beer, or the old, good kind? Here is a preliminary draft paper on uses of plants from the new world, including sassafras, not sure of the subsequent status of the research - see ://wfr.eduhistory/Events/Moravians/papers/wilsonconferencedraft.doc/

Early missionaries arrived and promptly arranged for trade in sassafras, see  Our Todays and Yesterdays, at  ://www.glynngen.com/mdc/oty/page1.htm/ , at text page 8 - scroll down. The trade in sassafras was also important for the Spaniards arriving - they also believed in its great medicinal value and gathered the root for tea-making. Perhaps the tea's benefits derived from boiling the water, but vast quantities of the roots were sent to Spain for use - sounds like there is more to it than boiling water. See the glynngen site.

The Indians called what is now Cumberland Island, Georgia, "Missoe" meaning sassafras. The Spanish named it San Pedro. After the English took over the Spanish control of the island in 1686 or so, the English took back to England several prominant Indians for show.  An Englishman, Cumberland, gave one of the elder Indians a gold watch. The Indian asked, upon return, if the island could be renamed for the Englishman who gave him the gold watch - ergo, Cumberland. See page 59 of the glynngen site.

Dr. Samuel Nunez, who escaped with his family from the Inquisition in Lisbon, settled among the English in Georgia, and lists sassafras among the remedies he used to purify the blood.  See Harvard Medical Alumni article from 1961 by a Dr. Weinstein, at ://underthemagnoliatree.net/Samuel_Nunez.html/.

On we go. How can we devalue sassafras so? The island of St. Simons also is known for its sassafras, among a wide variety of trees there. Page 114, below the 1806 entries, glynngen.

Once established, the sassafras spreads by its underground runners. Cut it down, use it up, and it grows right back again. It can grow so densely that strong measures are required in rebuttal. Difficult to cultivate intentionally. Runners in all directions from the big trees' roots. Then shoot up everywhere, each seeking sun. Turn your head away for one season, and watch out. Mow it back. Go, Don.

Transplanting is difficult. Like people, we do better with connectors.

Sassafras then protects its turf. It puts off chemicals that discourage other plants from competing in its range. No others allowed in its shadow. Like us, keep out the competition.

This allelopathy- the built-in rejector - is a highly developed defense as to those who would eat it. The allelopathic chemicals keep the rodent-beavers from eating the whole tree. They will only eat the twigs, leaving the tree free to produce for another year. Look up other allelopathic defenses - using chemicals to repel. All part of nature. See davesgarden.com/terms/go for more species that do this, and a good definition. As to beavers, their dams go up, the trees live for another season, beavers and dams happy.

Fast forward to the FDA: ignoring allelopathy, and usinge rodents as a baseline for whether people would get cancer from sassafras, when rodents are naturally averse? On that basis, take away all safrole.

File is ok - so go make your own.
See home-made file gumbo powder at www.nolacuisine.com/2005/08/16/file-powder.

Was a relative of the sassafras found in Tutankhamen's tomb? Looking for that reference.We see that essential oils were found in trace, but that sassafras seems to be native to the Americas. Safrole is an essential oil, used in fragrances, but not for Tut.

Tutankhamen, Roadside Pub Teaser, Poland

Drive past this Tut for a mile or so and find the second one, with the sign to the pub.















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Interest broadening now to nettles:

• Nettle tea is good,

Read about nettle tea and other herbal remedies
At forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/herbal/msg0815470719656.html?18.

• Restoring hair loss? If it does that cure,

Does that make steepy nettle tea a drug
So that the FDA can ban it, too,
Big Merck Attack.

If you also want your rootbeer back, see www.assateague.com/sass. --Sassafras leaves, uses.