Indian uses for Sassafras

Indians have various and sundry medicinal uses for sassafras (Sassafras albidum).

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Highlights

• Sassafras has medicinal uses
• Grows in eastern North America from Florida to Canada
• Known by multiple names
• 82 medicinal uses for sassafras from 11 Indian tribes listed in table below

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What is Sassafras?

Today, sassafras is mostly known for being the taste of root beer despite it’s history as an important plant in both Indian and European medicine. Sassafras is a small deciduous tree native to eastern North America from Canada to Florida. It has green apetalous flowers and dimorphous leaves and it grows to roughly 20 feet tall, however some trees have grown to 100 feet tall with a diameter of six feet.  

The leaf is typically trilobed and mitten shaped, however, it can sometimes form with one or two lobes. Smaller trees the size of large shrubs are desired for their roots and leaves, while bigger trees are desired for their timber. The wood and bark possess a characteristically sweet smell.

Sassafras wood is resistant to decay so some Indians used it for dugout canoes, and after contact, the Cherokees used it for furniture and fence posts.

Choctaw and Chickasaw Indians ground sassafras leaves to thicken and spice their food. They introduced the practice to Europeans and Africans and this food is now called filé, a staple in Cajun and Creole gumbos.

Europeans used sassafras as treatment for the French Pox or syphilis. It was also a consumer drink served in coffee houses as “bochet” when it was mixed with tea.¹

In backcountry Appalachia, sassafras roots were worn by Scotch-Irish immigrants to ward off witches, and they believed the devil would roost on their rooftops if sassafras wood was ever burned.²

Names for Sassafras

Sassafras has many names. Common names include saxifrax, saloop, ague tree, and cinnamon wood.³ In the late sixteenth century, Englishman Thomas Harriot reported the Algonquian speaking Indians of coastal North Carolina called sassafras winauk, and Scotsman Robert Gordon also claimed the Indians of Nova Scotia called it by the same name.⁴ Spanish botanist Nicolas Monardes said the Timucua speaking Indians of southern Georgia and northern Florida called it pauame or pavame.⁵

For more information on sassafras in the Anglo-American Atlantic world, check out How were the English introduced to Sassafras, Monardes and Gerard on Sassafras, Sassafras and Natural Philosophy, and Nicholas Culpeper on Sassafras.

Indian Medicinal Uses for Sassafras

Below is a chart and accompanying definitions listing various Indian medicinal uses for sassafras.⁶ Expand the number of entries on the chart to see the complete table.

Indian Medicinal Uses of Sassafras

Tribe	Description	Method	Part of tree	Other to add	Treatment for	Additional symptoms	Additional Details
Cherokee	oral aid	chew	roots		bad breath
Cherokee	anthelmintic	infusion	bark		worms
Cherokee	antidiarrheal	infusion	root bark		diarrhea
Cherokee	antirheumatic	infusion			rheumatism
Cherokee	dietiary aid	infusion	bark		obesity
Cherokee	dermatology aid	poultice			wounds and sores
Cherokee	eye medicine	wash			sore eyes
Cherokee	blood medicine				blood purifier
Cherokee	misc. disease remedy				fever
Cherokee	venereal aid				venereal disease
Chippewa	blood medicine	infusion	root bark		blood thinner
Choctaw	blood medicine	decoction	roots		blood thinner
Choctaw	misc. disease remedy	decoction	roots		measles
Delaware	blood medicine		root bark		blood purifier
Delaware	tonic		bark		tonic
Houma	misc. disease remedy		roots		measles		fresh or dried roots
Houma	misc. disease remedy		roots		scarlett fever		fresh or dried roots
Iroquois	hemostat	decoction	sprouts		nosebleed		pith from new sprouts
Iroquois	hypotensive	decoction	roots, sprouts		high blood pressure		pith from new sprouts
Iroquois	orthopedic aid	decoction	roots		edema	swelling in calves and shins
Iroquois	blood medicine	decoction and infusion	roots		watery blood
Iroquois	anthelmintic	infusion	roots	whiskey	tapeworms		compound infusion
Iroquois	antirheumatic	infusion	roots	whiskey	rheumatism		compound infusion
Iroquois	cold remedy	infusion	roots		colds		women
Iroquois	febrifuge and gynecological aid	infusion	roots		fever after childbirth		women
Iroquois	eye medicine	infusion or decoction as a wash			sore eyes
Iroquois	eye medicine	infusion or decoction as a wash			cataracts
Iroquois	dermatological aid	poultice			wounds, cuts, and bruises
Iroquois	tonic	tonic
Iroquois	blood medicine		sprouts		blood medicine		pith from new sprouts
Koasati	heart medicine	decoction	roots			heart troubles
Koasati	dermatological aid	poultice	leaves		bee stings
Mohegan	eye medicine	decocotion for wash	shoots		sore eyes
Mohegan	tonic	tonic	root, leaves, bark	other herbs
Nanticoke	febrifuge	infusion	roots		fever
Nanticoke	misc. disease remedy	infusion			prevent fever
Rappahannock	burn dressing	decocotion for wash	branch		burns
Rappahannock	eye medicine	decocotion for wash	branches		sore eyes		branch pith
Rappahannock	dermatological aid	infusion	roots		measles	rash
Rappahannock	febrifuge	infusion	roots		measles	fever
Rappahannock	misc. disease remedy	infusion	roots		measles	rash, fever
Rappahannock	sedative	infusion	roots		nerves
Rappahannock	tonic	infusion	roots				spring tonic
Rappahannock	stimulant		buds		lethargy		increase vigor in males
Seminole	laxative	decocotion	bark		horse sickness	nausea, constipation, blocked urination
Seminole	antidiarrheal	decoction			wolf ghost sickness	diarrhea, painful defecation
Seminole	antiemetic	decoction	bark		horse sickness	nausea, constipation, blocked urination
Seminole	antiemetic	decoction	roots		vomiting	continuous vomiting
Seminole	cathartic	decoction			wolf ghost sickness	diarrhea, painful defecation
Seminole	urinary aid	decoction	bark		horse sickness	nausea, constipation, blocked urination
Seminole	analgesic	infusion			wolf sickness	vomiting, stomach pain, diarrhea, frequent urination
Seminole	antidiarrheal	infusion			racoon sickness	diarrhea	children
Seminole	antidiarrheal	infusion	bark		otter sickness	diarrhea, vomiting
Seminole	antidiarrheal	infusion			wolf sickness	vomiting, stomach pain, diarrhea, frequent urination
Seminole	antiemetic	infusion	bark		otter sickness	diarrhea, vomiting
Seminole	antiemetic	infusion	bark		cat sickness	nausea	rubbed on body
Seminole	antiemetic	infusion			wolf sickness	vomiting, stomach pain, diarrhea, frequent urination
Seminole	cold remedy	infusion			colds		mouthwash, gargle
Seminole	dermatological aid	infusion	bark		monkey sickness	fever, itch, enlarged eyes	babies
Seminole	dietiary aid	infusion	bark		opossum sickness	appetite loss, drooling	babies
Seminole	dietiary aid	infusion	bark		dog sickness	appetite loss, drooling	children, adults
Seminole	emetic	infusion	bark		cat sickness	nausea	rubbed on body
Seminole	gastrointestinal aid	infusion			wolf sickness	vomiting, stomach pain, diarrhea, frequent urination
Seminole	oral aid	infusion	bark		opossum sickness	appetite loss, drooling	babies
Seminole	oral aid	infusion	bark		dog sickness	appetite loss, drooling
Seminole	other	infusion			mythical wolf sickness		rubbed on body
Seminole	pediatric aid	infusion			racoon sickness	diarrhea	small children
Seminole	pediatric aid	infusion	bark		otter sickness	diarrhea, vomiting
Seminole	pediatric aid	infusion	bark		dog sickness	appetite loss, drooling	children, adult
Seminole	throat aid	infusion			sore throat
Seminole	urinary aid	infusion			wolf sickness	vomiting, stomach pain, diarrhea, frequent urination
Seminole	febrifuge	infusion for bath	bark		monkey sickness	fever, itch, enlarged eyes	bath
Seminole	pediatric aid	infusion for bath	bark		opossum sickness	appetite loss, drooling	babies
Seminole	eye medicine	infusion for wash	bark		monkey sickness	fever, itch, enlarged eyes	babies
Seminole	analgesic		bark		cow sickness	lower chest pain, digestive disturbances, diarrhea
Seminole	analgesic				gallstones, bladder pain
Seminole	antidiarrheal				cow sickness	lower chest pain, digestive disturbances, diarrhea
Seminole	ceremonial medicine		bark		vomiting		induce vomiting for purification after funerals
Seminole	cough medicine				cough
Seminole	emetic		bark			induce vomiting	"clean the insides"
Seminole	gastrointestinal aid		bark		cow sickness	lower chest pain, digestive disturbances, diarrhea
Seminole	urinary aid				gallstones, bladder pain

Definitions

The following are definitions of terms in the above chart.

• Decoction – the liquor resulting from concentrating the essence of a substance by heating or boiling
• Infusion – a drink, remedy, or extract prepared by soaking the leaves of a plant or herb in liquid
• Poultice – a soft, moist mass of material, typically of plant material or flour, applied to the body to relieve soreness and inflammation and kept in place with a cloth
• Tonic – medicinal drink taken to give a feeling of vigor or well-being

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• Analgesic – drug that relieves pain
• Anthelmintic – drug used for the treatment of intestinal parasites
• Antidiarrheal – drug used to stop diarrhea
• Antiemetic – drug that inhibits vomiting
• Antirheumatic – drug used for rheumatism or arthritis
• Blood medicine – medicine designed to purify or influence the blood
• Burn dressing – all type of dressing applied externally to burns
• Cathartic – drug that causes evacuation of the bowels, a strong laxative; physic and purgative are synonyms of cathartic
• Ceremonial medicine – medicine used as part of ceremonies
• Cold remedy – medicine used for the relief or cure of colds
• Cough medicine – medicine used for the relief or cure of coughs
• Dermatological aid – drug used to treat any condition of the skin or hair
• Dietary aid – drug that affects the diet or hunger in a situation involving illness, usually used to increase the appetite of a sick person with no appetite or to decrease it (“diet pills”)
• Emetic – drug that causes vomiting
• Eye medicine – drug used for any afflictions of the eye
• Febrifuge – drug used to reduce fevers
• Gastrointestinal aid – drug used to treat distress of the digestive tract
• Gynecological aid – drug used to treat problems surrounding pregnancy and childbirth and other problems specific to women
• Heart medicine – drug used for the treatment of heart problems
• Hemostat – drug used to stop external bleeding
• Hyptotensive – drug used to reduce blood pressure
• Laxative – a mild treatment for constipation
• Miscellaneous disease remedy – drug used for a particular disease not categorized elsewhere
• Oral aid – drug used for the treatment of various mouth disorders
• Orthopedic aid – drug used for afflictions of the muscles or bones
• Other – drug used for various conditions and ailments that are not diseases and not categorized elsewhere
• Pediatric aid – drug specifically mentioned as a treatment for children
• Sedative – drug that reduces excitement or upset, a “downer”
• Stimulant – drug that reduces excitement or upset, an “upper”
• Throat aid – drug used for afflictions of the throat
• Tonic – drug used as a tonic for various ailments
• Urinary aid – drug used for problems of the urinary tract and by men for sexual organ problems
• Venereal aid – drug used for any venereal disease

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The following are the tribes mentioned in the chart above and their general geographic location.

• Cherokee – western North Carolina, northwestern Georgia, Oklahoma
• Chippewa – also known as the Ojibwa, located in the upper Midwest and southern Ontario
• Choctaw – Louisiana, Mississippi
• Delaware – east coast, Ontario, Oklahoma
• Houma – Louisiana
• Iroquois – upstate New York, southern Quebec
• Koasati – southeastern United States
• Mohegan – Connecticut
• Nanticoke – Delaware
• Rappahannock – Virginia
• Seminole – southern Florida

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Endnotes