Editing Sassafras (section)

{{Short description|Genus of trees}}
{{About|the genus of trees|the North American species of tree|Sassafras albidum}}
{{Other uses|Sassafras (disambiguation)}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| fossil_range = [[Maastrichtian]]–[[recent]], {{fossilrange|70|0|earliest=Albian}}<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Breithaupt |first1=B. H |title=Paleontology and paleoecology of the Lance Formation (Maastrichtian), east flank of Rock Springs Uplift, Sweetwater County, Wyoming |journal=Contributions to Geology, University of Wyoming |date=1982 |volume=21 |issue=2}}</ref> Possible [[Albian]] record <ref>{{Cite journal |last=Peppe |first=Daniel J. |last2=Hickey |first2=Leo J. |last3=Miller |first3=Ian M. |last4=Green |first4=Walton A. |date=October 2008 |title=A Morphotype Catalogue, Floristic Analysis and Stratigraphic Description of the Aspen Shale Flora(Cretaceous–Albian) of Southwestern Wyoming |url=http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.3374/0079-032X-49.2.181 |journal=Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History |language=en |volume=49 |issue=2 |pages=181–208 |doi=10.3374/0079-032X-49.2.181 |issn=0079-032X|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
| image = Sassafras Leaves June Nbg (261691941).jpeg
| image_caption = ''[[Sassafras albidum]]'', <br />[[Norfolk Botanical Garden]]
| taxon = Sassafras
| authority = [[J.Presl]]<ref name=IPNI_21501-1/>
| subdivision_ranks  = Species
| subdivision        =
''[[Sassafras albidum]]''<br />
†''[[Sassafras ashleyi]]''<br />
†''[[Sassafras columbiana]]''<br />
†''[[Sassafras hesperia]]''<br />
''[[Sassafras randaiense]]''<br />
''[[Sassafras tzumu]]''<br />
†''[[Sassafras yabei]]''
| synonyms           =
''Pseudosassafras'' <small>[[Paul Henri Lecomte|Lecomte]]</small>
}}

'''''Sassafras''''' is a genus of three [[Extant taxon|extant]] and one extinct species of [[deciduous]] [[tree]]s in the family [[Lauraceae]], native to eastern [[North America]] and eastern [[Asia]].<ref name="fna">{{eFloras|1 |family=Lauraceae |first=Henk |last=van der Werff}}</ref><ref name="WW1987">Wolfe, Jack A. & Wehr, Wesley C. 1987. The sassafras is an ornamental tree. "Middle Eocene Dicotyledonous Plants from Republic, Northeastern Washington". ''United States Geological Survey Bulletin'' '''1597''':13</ref><ref name=nie>{{cite journal |author = Nie, Z.-L. |author2 = Wen, J. |author3 = Sun, H. |year = 2007 |title = Phylogeny and biogeography of Sassafras (Lauraceae) disjunction between eastern Asia and eastern North America |journal = Plant Systematics and Evolution |volume = 267 |issue = 1–4 |pages = 191–203 |doi = 10.1007/s00606-007-0550-1|bibcode = 2007PSyEv.267..191N | citeseerx = 10.1.1.669.8487|s2cid = 44051126 }}</ref> The genus is distinguished by its aromatic properties, which have made the tree useful to humans.