Sassafras is a North American tree with distinctively shaped leaves and a strong, sweet smell. The leaves come in three different forms: some have a single oval shape, some look like mittens with a thumb sticking out, and others have three lobes like a trident. This variety makes sassafras easy to identify in the forest.

For centuries, people have used sassafras roots to make tea and to flavor early versions of root beer, giving these drinks a spicy-sweet taste. Native Americans introduced sassafras to European colonists, who valued it so highly they shipped it back to Europe. The roots contain aromatic oils that smell like a combination of cinnamon, vanilla, and something uniquely their own.

Sassafras trees grow wild throughout the eastern United States, often popping up at forest edges or in abandoned fields. Their leaves turn brilliant shades of orange, red, and purple in autumn, making them some of the most colorful trees in the fall landscape.

Modern commercial root beer usually uses other flavorings instead of actual sassafras, but you can still find sassafras trees growing wild if you know what to look for.