Sassafras grows throughout the Eastern and Midwestern United States, from Maine to Iowa and south to Texas and Florida. Growing 40 to 100 feet tall, the Sassafras lives about 700 to 1000 years and the trunk's diameter can be 3-7 feet. Its weight range is 28 to 31 pounds per cubic foot.

The wood is light in color, from a pale brown to an orangeish brown. It resembles ash, chestnut, and hackberry in appearance, but is softer than all three. Sassafras is noted for being a “soft” hardwood with an interesting grain pattern and is generally straight-grained. The sapwood is narrow and yellow-white in color.

Sassafras can be used for everything from furniture to fence posts and boxes to boat parts. Selected logs are sliced into veneer. Sassafras tea is made by boiling the tree’s flowers and root bark.

It is suitable for steam bending, is easily worked, takes a finish well, and glues well. Pre-boring necessary when nailing and the wood holds screws better than nails.