Genus Sassafras Nees.

S. randaiense (Hayata) Rehder

Common name: Taiwan sassafras

Clinton T. Moore

Warnell School of Forest Resources
University of Georgia, Athens

Other common names:

Taxonomic arrangement (Bentham and Hooker 1880):

Phylum Angiospermae
Subphylum Dicotyledones
Class Monochlamydeae
Order Daphnales
Family Lauraceae
Tribe Litseae
Genus Sassafras

Identification

Taxonomy

The species was first described and placed under genus Lindera by Hayata (1911). Rehder (1920) reclassified the genus.

Description

A small to medium-sized (20 m tall) tree. Leaves -- Alternate, deciduous, simple, smooth margins; unlobed or 3-lobed, both forms on the same individual; 10-15 cm long; aromatic. Flowers -- Small, dioecious, arranged on racemes approx. 3 cm long. Fruits -- Blue drupe 6 mm across, in thickened pedicel 2.5-3 cm long. Bark -- dark brown and deeply fissured.

A more detailed description and a drawing of the leaves and flowers is found in Li (1963) and in Li et al. (1976).

Information on the habit of S. randaiense is not found in accessible works. However, the species is believed to be similar to S. albidum in many characteristics (Rehder 1920), namely, growth on drained, sandy soils along edges and forest openings. S. randaiense is endemic to Taiwan, and rare, occurring at altitudes of 1800-2500 m in the Central Ranges.

S. randaiense is evidently overharvested for timber (Wang and Hu 1984). Silvicultural methods to regenerate the tree (seeding, rooting) have enjoyed little success (Wang and Hu 1984).

Distribution

Approximate distribution of S. randaiense (Source: Li et al. 1976)

Ethnobotany

Sassafras randaiense is valued for its timber, and some is being extracted (Wang and Hu 1984). El-Feraly at al. (1983) extracted a root compound that exhibits antimicrobial activity.

Links to information on Sassafras randaiense

References

  1. Bentham, G., and J. D. Hooker. 1880. Genera plantarum. L. Reeve, London, England, UK.
  2. El-Feraly, F. S., S. F. Cheatham, and R. L. Breedlove. 1983. Antimicrobial neolignans of Sassafras randaiense roots collected in Taiwan. J. Natural Products 46:493-498.
  3. Hayata, B. 1911. J. Coll. Sci. Tokyo 30:257-258.
  4. Li, H.-L. 1963. Wooy flora of Taiwan. Livingston Publishing, Narberth, Pennsylvania, USA. LC 63-18684.
  5. Li, H.-L., T. S. Liu, T.-C. Huang, T. Koyoma, and C. E. DeVol, eds. 1976. Flora of Taiwan. Vol. 2. Epoch Publishing, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China.
  6. Rehder, A. 1920. The American and Asiatic species of Sassafras. J. Arnold Arboretum 1:242-245.
  7. Wang, P. J., and C. Y. Hu. 1984. In vitro cloning of the deciduous timber tree Sassafras randaiense. Int. J. Plant Physiol. 113:331-335.














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Last Updated on August 13, 1997 by Clinton T. Moore