Locality. Naturalized in many localities east of Rocky Mountains. Features of Tree. Thirty to fifty feet in height, one to two or more feet in diameter. Trunks not well formed. A low, wide tree, large heart-shaped leaves, characteristic flower. Long slender pod or bean. Color, Appearance, or Grain of Wood. Thick heartwood is light pink brown; thin sapwood is nearly white. Coarse-grained, compact. Structural Qualities of Wood. Light, soft, not strong, durable in contact with soil. Representative Uses of Wood. Fence-posts, railway ties, etc. Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot. 27. Modulus of Elasticity. 960,000. Modulus of Rupture. 8300. Remarks. Grows rapidly. Pods remain on tree after leaves fall. Sometimes used as cigars by children. Wood is less desirable than C. speciosa. [p093] [Illustration: PLATE 19. SASSAFRAS (_Sassafras officinale_).] SASSAFRAS. MULBERRY. (_Sassafras_.) (_Morus_.) The sassafras was one of the first American trees to be described in Europe,[53] where many fictitious properties were early credited to its aromatic essences. The wood is not distinguished by unusual qualities, but trees are cut for lumber as encountered with other and more valuable species in the forest. The mucilaginous leaves are of three separate shapes. Some have lobes on both sides of the central surface, others have one lobe at one side so as to resemble mittens, while yet others on the same branch have simple oval shapes. The dark-blue berries on bright-red stems are so eagerly devoured by birds as to be seldom seen. The characteristic flavor is most pronounced in the bark of the root. The Red, White, and Black Mulberries are named from the color of their fruits. The former, which is the American species, has wood resembling that of the sassafras, only in that it is not distinguished by unusual qualities. Its leaves, like that of the sassafras, are of several shapes on the same tree. The very sweet fruit resembles blackberries in form. The leaves used in silkworm-culture are from the Russian mulberry, a cross between the white mulberry and black mulberry (M. alba and M. nigra).[54] [p094] FOOTNOTES [Footnote 53: Monardes, a Spanish writer, described the sassafras about half a century after the landing of Columbus.] [Footnote 54: Annual Report Chief U. S. Forestry Division, 1887; also Bulletins on Silk, published by U. S. Dept. Agriculture.] SASSAFRAS. _Sassafras officinale Nees and Eberm._ _Sassafras sassafras (Linn.) Karst._ Nomenclature. (Sudworth.) Sassafras (local and common name). Saxifrax, Sasifrax Tree (Fla., Tenn.). Sassafac, Sassafrac (W. Va., Del.). Gumbo file (La., negro). Locality. Vermont to Florida, westward intermittently to Michigan and Texas. Features of Tree. Thirty to fifty feet in height, one to three feet in diameter, sometimes larger, often low shrub, characteristic odor and leaves. Color, Appearance, or Grain of Wood.