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Sassafras--My Money Tree!

© Renie Burghardt

May, the lovely month when Nature's promise of Spring is finally fully realized. A walk to the woodland in May is a heady experience. The enchanting smells of decaying leaves mingling with the scents of Pines, Cedars, Sassafras, Wild Ginger, and a myriad of other woodland plants fill my nostrils with their aromatic magic.

The woods in May have taken on their mysterious cloak again, and you have to venture into them to find their revelations. There are tall trees whose arms reach out above all else, creating a green canopy over the entire forest. The urge to lie down on the forest floor is so strong suddenly, that I give in to it. And as I gaze up towards the light through the canopy of leaves, I'm reminded of a quote of John Muir's, "Look! Nature is overflowing with the grandeur of God!" For it is indeed.

Beneath the tall Oaks and Hickories, I note the more rounded trees of the understory. These beautiful, small, rounded trees live out their lives under this green canopy. Dogwood, Wild Plum, and Sassafras-my money tree! It's good to see it thriving throughout these hundred acres. I tear off and crush a leaf and enjoy the lemon-musk scent, and even cut a piece off the root of a young one, to take back to the house and make Sassafras tea from the root's bark. It's a spring ritual that I've come to enjoy. Folks around here believe that the tea made from the root bark is a blood purifier, and an herbal book I consulted confirms this. Besides, it tastes pretty darn good!

When I moved to the Ozarks, I soon discovered that Sassafras was a money tree to "poor folks" around here. There are people that come here all summer just to buy dried Sassafras leaves from gatherers. The payment for the dried leaves is $1.00 a pound, not bad, since Sassafras retains quite a bit of its weight after drying, and one can easily make $500, $600 in pocket money gathering it. Harvesting the leaves doesn't hurt the tree a bit; soon there are new leaves growing on it. And what happens to the hundreds of pounds of dried Sassafras leaves that people happily harvest and sell? It's ground up and sold to Louisiana folks, who use it to flavor their gumbos and other dishes. I even grind some for my own use, for it gives ham an extra special flavor!