sassafras tree

[maddogmorgan]

does anyone know where I can get some seeds for the sassafras tree

[pyrotek]

umm that tree is uses to make some ilegal thothoug the free adn any part of it is NOT ilegal

but u will have a hard time gettin it cos of teh ues and if ya do find it u could be watched

c-ya

[maddogmorgan]

well I actually didn't know that it was used for illegal purposes. I don't see why someone should be watched for posesing a legal plant because it is possible to use it for illegal perpouses. What is it actually used for.

[Torsten]

It's great for making real rootbeer.

It contains the essential oil safrol, which is the basis of illegal 'e' manufacture.

There are many legal uses for sassafras oil though. I used to use it on my dogs against ticks and fleas until it got taken off the shelves.

I have a few seeds, but they don't seem to want to germinate. if they do I could make cuttings for sale sometime next year.

[maddogmorgan]

yea that would be cool. Does it grow ne where naturally otherwise I'll have to keep on hunting.

[Torsten]

It's native to the US and likes cool winters. I dug up a few of my seeds today and they all rotted. That means they were either dead or the soil too wet (unlikely as I used coarse sharp sand). I have another batch from a different source and will try again. There is one tree growing in a heritage garden in australia, so if mine fails I will try to get some cuttings during winter. It is still to young for seed.

[Andrew]

Hi Mad dog

I found viable(supposedly) seed for sassafras albidum at this site pure land ethnobotanicals .I think the site is www.ethnobotanicals.com .see ya,

Andrew

[DreamingNagual]

I have some bark my father gave me to make

beer out of and he reckons he can get me some young plants,Next time I go bush I will sus this out and see if I can bring a few back.

[rkundalini]

There is also a native species, Atherosperma moschatum. It smells just delicious and I've heard 2nd or 3rd hand reports of locals in Tasmania using it as a tea. Seeing it likes cool temperate rainforest, it might not be the easiest for some of you to grow though I guess.

Actually in checking the latin name of this I just ran across the following file which might be of interest if you want to grow deliciously fragrant aromatic plants...

http://rhodium.lycaeum.org/chemistry/safrolefaq.txt

[Torsten]

Originally posted by Andrew:

Hi Mad dog

I found viable(supposedly) seed for sassafras albidum at this site pure land ethnobotanicals .I think the site is www.ethnobotanicals.com  .see ya,

Andrew

While this company is one of the best and also my fave place to shop, sadly, the current batch of not so viable sassy seeds was sourced from there. maybe next season.

[Guest Psilo_smylin]

Hi.

I'm lucky enough to live right near Sassafras (town and creek).

There names coincidently came from Atherosperma moschatum or Southern Sassafrass.

I'm not sure about seed viability,In the wild it has a symbiotic relationship with treeferns. I do know micropropagation is probably the go these days If you had the the rescorces i may just be able to help.

Got pleanty sources and close friends tell me that a tea made from bit of bark and leaves makes them smile and feel "cosy".

It (Ginjerum?) also has(d) a traditional use in Coorie culture.

Let us know how you go.

[Torsten]

Atherosperma moschatum grows easily from seed.

[Ed Dunkel]

Were could I source Atherosperma moschatum (southern sassafras) seeds from?

Does anyone in Melbourne know if Kuranga Native Nursery sells plants in there rainforest collection?

E D

[rkundalini]

heh I used to live in Sassafras. Beautiful place but I was glad not to have to drive 50 minutes each way to uni every day once I moved. I wonder if we ever lived near eachother...

Never found any southern sassafras growing there. I do beleive the whole are has been clearfelled several times over ...

[Guest TAXMAN]

http://abbey.yage.net/plantsRS.htm

has bags o seeds for $ pound sterling.. i warn u though, this will get searched in postage at present.. damn foot n mouth shit..

[DreamingNagual]

Well just to update, My father has got me some seed from the norwest area of Tassie.

Now these are 1cm-1cm round pods

(about the size of a pea)More or less a white to greenish colour with blonde fuzz surrounding,they have an indent where they come off the plant.

The Q I am asking is when I break open these capsules

Should I plant the whole (pod,capsule) or what? Any help would be gladly appreciated.

PS.I can still supply cuts if anyone has the time to grow this and get back to me on its

stats!

MOJO.

[Torsten]

Originally posted by MOJORISIN:

The Q I am asking is when I break open these capsules

Should I plant the whole (pod,capsule) or what? Any help would be gladly appreciated.

You have to get the pods while they are closed. Once they open the seed just falls out. It is a small seed, but I can't remember the shape (only dehusked some 3 weeks ago, but have forgotten). Natural drying will probably eject the seeds at the best pace.

PS.I can still supply cuts if anyone has the time to grow this and get back to me on its stats!

I have had no success with cuttings. They live for months and form a little callous tissue and then die.

[DreamingNagual]

Originally posted by Torsten:

Funny enuff this is what happens whenever we try to prop that is why I dont have the time!

Also a bit off topic But My Daphne bush does the same!

[waterdragon]

daphne cuttings , like lemons and possibly many others , high mortality can be overcame simply by weight of numbers ie take a shitload of cuttings and if only small percentage survive then that's a start. btw that's a metric shitload not imperial.

[Ed Dunkel]

I have had no success with cuttings. They live for months and form a little callous tissue and then die.

I just read in a book about Temperate Rainforest Trees of S E Australia that it is very hard to propagate Atherosperma moschatum (southern sassafras) from seed but that a ROOT cutting works best. Maybe that will help you, Torsten, if you have a tree near you. Personally I'm still looking for a tree.

E D

[Torsten]

Originally posted by Ed Dunkel:

Maybe that will help you, Torsten, if you have a tree near you.  Personally I'm still looking for a tree.

While I don't have a problem taking cuttings off fairly common trees in botanic gardens, attacking the root is a different story

I'll use a stronger hormone solution next year and will also take the cutting in spring rather than summer.

[theobromos]

I just got the new Horizon Herbs catalogue http://www.chatlink.com/~herbseed . It lists Sassafras albidum (syn. S. officinale) for the first time.

I have had lots of good quality seed from this company. If they say it is "Easy." from seed then I would say it is worth the US$2.65 plus post and packing from Oregon for the ten seeds. Though they do say it has "Flowers yellow to 100 foot tall." But that is just because they are more concerned with the seeds and plants than the wording in the catalogue.

Check the rest of the catalogue (not all online still?) there are some delights.

Aren't the leaves essential in Creole cooking? Filo?

[Torsten]

If they say it is "Easy." from seed then I would say it is worth the US$2.65

They would sow it straight off the tree, which is when it is piss easy. But once the fruit dries you have to stratify the seed for several weeks to have any chance. Some places send out the fresh berries at harvest time.

Aren't the leaves essential in Creole cooking? Filo?

I thought they use Piper auritum as their safrol source.

[Guest Psi]

On sassy oil, what's the deal with the stuff some of the Australian online retailers sell? I've seen websites selling sassafras oil by the kg - is this stuff watched or has the safrole been removed?

[theobromos]

Is Piper auritum found in Louisiana? I am pretty sure I remember the identity of that spice correctly. So sure I am not even going to look it up. Prove me wrong. I am not sure it contains much safrole compared to the other parts of the tree. Could be more like bay leaf.

I see there is an interesting new Amazonian Piper species mentioned in Flavour and Fragrance Journal (2001) 16; 113-5 They call it Piper affinis hispidinervum, but only because it was previously mistaken for P. hispidinervum and they haven't got a new name for it yet. P. hispidinervum C. DC. was said to have up to 90% safrole in its essential oil. However this similar species had 4% of the dried leaf as essential oil. Of which 52.1-90.4% was sarisan (2-methoxy-4,5-methylenedioxy-1-propenylbenzene), an intriguing isomer of myristicin. I wonder if it is carcinogenic?