Is there a market for the root or other products of sassafrass trees?

You can sell the leaves here right now ,not sure about the market for root bark ect.

leaves are used to make gumbo file'

theres always a market for file' in the south

any idea what they're bringing?

I am buying sassafrass leaves for 1.25 a lb. at this time. They must be completely dry and green colored to sell.

I have acres of sassyfrass I need to cut down along my field edges .... If I do iy right I can get the roots for tea??? the leaves for you and the trees for the amish for furniture.tell me about how to get the roots and market that.Any size roots and this time of year ok?

to dry the leaves how is th ebest way for that?

the best way to dry those leaves is to dry them in the shade or in a shed ,you want them to retain the green color when they dry...direct sunlight will turn them brown....preferabley on some sort of screen or on a tarp were there is zero moisture.

if you choose the tarp method ,,turn them often to make sure all sides are getting dry.

good advise foxkidd

my shed gets pretty warm right now if shut will that be good to dry or maybe too fast? Run som efans too? Never tried to dry anything and keep it green --I AM A ROOKIE...LOL..

You can also leave a couple inches of twig with your leaves, if the twig is bright green or new shoots. In my thoughts, sassafrass leaves was one of the easiest jobs I have done in the herb picking bussiness, especially if you can get on fresh cut sassafrass tree. You can pick leaves off of the downed tree untill they either start getting discolored or to dry to pick. They can get pretty dry before they get to dry to pick.

I know I've seen that stuff somewhere but now I'm not finding any. Where do they like to grow?

Mine are like Popple type trees they are first to come back after a field goes not planted for a few years or at edges of field.

yote, sassafrass loves to grow along roads that have been cut thru the woods.

Also likes fence rows, woods edges, road edges along right of way, power lines etc.

how can I tell when they are dry enough to ship ? I am going tomorrow if it dont rain to get some and try drying and see how it turns out , suggestions Don? All fresh [new growth] and leaves....I have 1/4" copper screens setup for sifting large volumes of dirt . can I just elevate the leaves and let dry in shady places around my driveway and pond with a breeze or in shed with fans going?

One more question. How thick can i layer the leaves? Can they be layred a few thick? Just turn frequently and I'll be ok with that?

Not all the fresh new growth, maybe 4-5 inches of it. The twig will be the last thing to dry and it will take 2-3 weeks to dry at least. The leaves will dry in a few days but it all has to be dried. I pile the stuff on 3-4 inches deep and turn it all everyday. As it dries ,you will have more open area. If you cut the twigs into inch long pieces they dry faster.. The new growth needs to be less size than a pencil in diameter.

Ok there seems to be quite the interest in sassafras leaves so let me ask this question im sure lots of folks would like to know,How many pounds would a level truck bed of sass leaves dry out to?or a trash bag full?Just trying to get an idea if a guy could make 10.00 for a days work or 100?
Don youve done these before can you make 5.00 an hour stripping sassafras leaves or more?Just curious as I think in all these threads the price always comes up and the only thing ive ever dug and sold is Yellowroot and Sang,Chuck

Chuck the best I did on the leaves was last year and it was picking leaves off of a big sassafrass that had been cut down. My wife and I took lawn chairs to the tree and cut 60.00 worth in about 3-4 hours. These was perfect conditions and the tree was laying in a persons yard. 4 adults and 2 young boys took about 300.00 worth of leaves of the tree in a couple days. There was over 1/2 the leaves left on the tree when the rain hit it and ruined our picking. I just answered a pm from a fella that asked how much weight you can put into a certain sized bag. My answer was this. I use a 39 x 24 inch polly bag for storing the leaves and can get from 10 to 15 lbs. approx. in each bag.
Chuck , my brother and I went out for about 5 hrs. and picked leaves and made 30 bucks. That was driving time and walking time involved. That was all last season and leaves was 50 cents a lb. higher last year than they are this year.