Wood Species Guide
Sassafras
Sassafras albidum
Also called: White Sassafras, Red Sassafras, Ague Tree
What Sassafras looks like
Light to medium golden brown heartwood that can carry orange or grayish tones. Sapwood is pale. It darkens gently with age.
Grain and texture
Straight grain with a coarse, uneven texture and open pores. It is ring-porous and is often mistaken for ash or chestnut at a glance.
Working Sassafras: planing, cutting and gluing
Works easily with hand and power tools and glues well. Fresh-cut wood gives off a spicy, root-beer-like scent that most people enjoy. Sharp tools help on end grain because of the open pores.
Finishing Sassafras: oil, film finishes and epoxy
Finishes well with oil or film finishes; fill the grain if you want a smooth, glassy surface. As with other open-pored woods, put down a thin epoxy seal coat before a deep pour so air doesn't bubble out of the pores.
Durability, stability and Florida humidity
Rated durable to very durable against decay, and it has been used for posts and boats. It is reasonably stable. A finished piece does well indoors in Florida and holds up fine on a covered lanai.
Shop notes from our Fort Myers shop
Sassafras is a fun local-ish wood: it grows in north and central Florida, smells great in the shop and has a warm golden color. It is soft enough for easy carving but not ideal for a hard-use dining top. Boards are usually narrow and come from small sawyers. We don't stock it; ask and we can watch for it.
Common uses for Sassafras
Furniture, boxes, small boats, fence posts, trim and turnings.
Sustainability and CITES status
Not listed in the CITES Appendices. Listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Sassafras is also a host of laurel wilt, the disease that has killed many redbay trees in Florida.
Safety and toxicity
- Sensitizer (allergy builds with exposure)
- Respiratory / asthma
- Nausea or headache
Sassafras dust can cause allergy, breathing irritation and nausea in some people. The wood and root bark contain safrole, an oil that is toxic if swallowed, so keep it away from food and drink.
- In the shop
- Dust collection + respirator when sanding; ventilate; gloves for sensitive skin
- Food contact
- Not recommended for cutting boards, bowls and utensils
General information, not medical advice. See a doctor if you have a reaction.
Sassafras can be a sensitizer, and nausea and respiratory irritation have been reported. Oil from the roots and wood is toxic if swallowed. Use dust collection and a respirator, and don't use it for food or drink.
Sassafras in stock now
Ask us. We can often source it.
We don't have Sassafras listed online right now, but new slabs and lumber come in all the time and not everything makes it to the website. Tell us what you're building and we'll check our racks and suppliers.
Similar woods: Domestic Utility Hardwoods
- BasswoodIn stockTilia americana Basswood is the carver's wood: soft, light, pale and so fine-textured that it holds crisp detail with little...
- PoplarIn stockLiriodendron tulipifera Yellow poplar is the affordable, easy-to-work hardwood that ends up inside most painted cabinets and trim. In slab...
- American HollyIlex opaca American holly yields one of the whitest woods in the world, a favorite for inlay and contrast work....
- American SycamorePlatanus occidentalis American sycamore is a plain, inexpensive wood until you quartersaw it. Then it is covered in a lace-like...
- AspenPopulus tremuloides and Populus grandidentata (sold together as aspen) Aspen is the pale, lightweight poplar of northern forests, plain in looks but easy on tools. It is...
- Black TupeloNyssa sylvatica (swamp tupelo is often treated as N. sylvatica var. biflora) Black tupelo, or black gum, is a native tree of Florida and the eastern US with plain, tough,...