sassafras tree

1 7.2

A North American tree with strong smelling leaves and bark used to make oil and tea

noun
/ˈsæsəˌfræs tri/

: árbol de sasafrás

Look at that sassafras tree!

Examples

We spotted a sassafras tree in the woods, easily recognized by its distinctive leaves.
Many herbalists use extracts from the sassafras tree for its potential medicinal properties.
The aromatic oil extracted from the sassafras tree was once common in root beer.
The bark of the sassafras tree has long been used to make tea and traditional medicines.
The sassafras tree has beautiful leaves.
The sassafras tree is known for its distinctive aromatic leaves and is often found in moist woodlands.
In North America, the sassafras tree is recognized for its unique bark, which is a source of sassafras oil.

Synonyms

sassafras

vssassafras tree

2 8.0

A North American tree with leaves and bark that have a strong smell and are used for flavoring and medicine

is the deciduous tree defined mainly as an oil source rather than for flavoring

sassafras albidum

vssassafras tree

Specialized

1 9.0

A North American tree with fragrant leaves and bark used to make oil and tea

is the broader common name rather than the specific botanical name

Surface Forms

sassafras tree singular

sassafras trees plural

Morphology

sassafras + tree

The phrase is compositionally built from 'sassafras' (a fragrant North American deciduous tree) and 'tree' and simply denotes a tree of that species. This straightforward noun+noun identification is cross-linguistically common and immediately derivable by a B1 learner who knows both constituent words.

Etymology

Sassafras tree may come from the name people used for a fragrant tree whose bark and roots were used long ago to make 'root beer' and 'medicine'. So the name helps us remember a tree with a strong smell and useful bark.