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...aromatic leaf, bark, and root of which are used as a flavouring, as a traditional home medicine, and as a tea. The roots yield about 2 percent oil of sassafras, once the characteristic ingredient of root beer.
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...aromatic leaf, bark, and root of which are used as a flavouring, as a traditional home medicine, and as a tea. The roots yield about 2 percent oil of sassafras, once the characteristic ingredient of root beer.
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(species Sassafras albidum), North American tree of the laurel family (Lauraceae), the aromatic leaf, bark, and root of which are used as a flavouring, as a traditional home medicine, and as a tea. The roots yield about 2 percent oil of sassafras, once the characteristic ingredient of root beer.
The tree is native to sandy soils from Maine to Ontario and Iowa and south to Florida and Texas. It is usually small but may attain a height of 20 m (65 feet) or more. It has furrowed bark, bright green twigs, and small clusters of yellow flowers followed by dark blue berries. Sassafras has three distinctive forms of leaves, often on the same twig: three-lobed, two-lobed (or mitten-shaped), and entire.
powdered leaves of the sassafras tree, used as a spice and as a thickener for soups and sauces. Its use originated with the Choctaw Indians in the American South. Filé is an essential ingredient of Louisiana gumbo and other Creole dishes. Because cooking makes it stringy, the filé is characteristically added to food after removal from heat and just before serving.
Student Encyclopædia Britannica articles specifically written for elementary and high school students.
Activated by water and oxygen, the root embryo of the barleycorn secretes a plant hormone called gibberellic acid, which initiates the synthesis of α-amylase. The α- and β-amylases then convert the starch molecules of the corn into sugars that the embryo can use as food. Other enzymes, such as the proteases and β-glucanases, attack the cell walls around the starch grains,...
Student Encyclopædia Britannica articles specifically written for elementary and high school students.
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