SASSAFRAS TREE BARK CUT AND SIFTED

It is a medium-sized deciduous tree growing to 15–20 m tall, with a trunk up to 60 cm diameter, and a crown with many slender branches. The bark on trunk of mature trees is thick, dark red-brown, and deeply furrowed. The branching is sympodial. The shoots are bright yellow. The leaves are alternate, green to yellow-green, ovate or obovate. An essential oil, called sassafras oil, is distilled from the root bark or the fruit. It was used as a fragrance in perfumes and soaps, food and for aromatherapy. The smell of sassafras oil is said to make an excellent repellent for mosquitoes and other insects. Acids can be extracted from bark for manufacturing perfumes. The essential oil was used as a pain killer as well as an antiseptic in dentistry The pith is used in the U.S. to soothe eye inflammation and ease catarrh.