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Are you finding yourself thirsty for a little soda pop this summer? How about for some botanical knowledge about soda pop’s history?
In this plant face-off episode, Erin and Sean put some fizz into the competition with the plants behind two iconic flavours: the cola nut that gives cola its kick, and the sassafras that puts the root in root beer. Or, at least, the plants that did serve those roles before the advent of artificial flavouring.
Erin takes the first swig with a dramatic overview of the North American Sassafras albidum, an aromatic tree with a long history of use for medicine, food, furniture, and one nautical beverage that almost saw it hunted to extinction. She peers into the muddy waters surrounding its first use in root beer and, later, its controversial ban by the FDA, speculates about Choctaw influence on its use in gumbo, and delights over the Kanien’kéha (Mohawk) name, wenhákeras, meaning “smelly thing.” Sean takes his kick at the can with the cola nut, the key ingredient behind the flavour and caffeine of cola beverages. He discusses the flavourful Malvaceae family tree of the West African cola tree (also spelled kola) (Cola nitida and Cola acuminata) and its surprising identity as a broad-leaf evergreen before serving up some knowledge about the fruit’s growing habits and its cultural history as a stimulant and a beverage ingredient. After some medical meanderings and a look at modern-day distribution, we wrap up Coca-Cola origins and its present-day ingredients.
Who had the most interesting facts to share today? Vote for your favourite by tagging us on social media and using the hashtag #PAWFaceOff.
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Credits
Website Design and Illustration by Sophia Alladin
Intro and Outro Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/when-my-ukulele-plays
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Citations
Common names for sassafras
Wood and charcoal indentification in southern MD. (n.d.). https://apps.jefpat.maryland.gov/woodandcharcoalid/Webpages-trees/Sassafras.htm
Indigenous names for sassafras
Plenty Canada. (2024). SaSSaFras. Greenbelt Indigenous Botanical Survey. https://gibsurvey.ca/species/sassafras
Furniture uses
Packard Forest Products. (2011, October 30). Sassafras – Packard Forest products. https://packardforestproducts.com/lumber/hardwood-lumber/species-guide/sassafras/
Food and medicine uses
MacKinnon, A., & Kershaw, L. (2016). Edible and medicinal plants of Canada. Publishing Partners.
Root beer’s origins and the banning of safrole oil
Verberg, S. (2023, November 30). Root beer: the quintessential American soda. American Homebrewers Association. https://homebrewersassociation.org/beyond-beer/root-beer-the-quintessential-american-soda/
Sassafras oil and toxicity
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/pharmacology-toxicology-and-pharmaceutical-science/sassafras
The history of sassafras in North America
Sassafras: Native gem of North America. (2022, October 10). Cornell Botanic Gardens. https://cornellbotanicgardens.org/sassafras-native-gem-of-north-america
Sassafras in Ontario
Sassafras. (n.d.). ontario.ca. https://www.ontario.ca/page/sassafras
Growing sassafras
Sassafras albidum (Cinnamon Wood, Common Sassafras, Mitten Tree, Sassafras, White Sassafras) | North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox. (n.d.). https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/sassafras-albidum/
Hassani, N. (2025, May 7). How to grow and care for sassafras. The Spruce. https://www.thespruce.com/sassafras-tree-plant-profile-5199214
Cola nut overview
Kola Trees (Genus Cola). (n.d.). iNaturalist. https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/132989-Cola
Wikipedia contributors. (2025, July 18). Kola nut. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kola_nut
Cola nut etymology
Kola – Etymology, Origin & Meaning. (n.d.). Etymonline. https://www.etymonline.com/word/kola
Medicinal uses for cola nut and caffeine
Cola nut: health benefits, side effects, uses, dose & precautions. (2021, June 11). RxList. https://www.rxlist.com/supplements/cola_nut.htm#:~:text=Cola%20nut%20is%20used%20for,used%20as%20a%20flavoring%20ingredient
Timestamps
00:11 Introduction
01:13 What’s Growing On? Sean’s Fruit Shrubs and Willow Wall
03:38 What’s Growing On? Reciprocity in Erin’s Vegetable Garden
06:03 The Range of Serviceberry Taste
06:51 Water Break: Regionalisms
07:19 The Plant Face-Off
08:25 Sassafras Albidum, an Aromatic Shrub
09:08 The Etymology of Sassafras
11:10 Indigenous Names for Sassafras
12:55 The Distinct Look of a Sassafras Tree
15:47 Wildlife, Building and Dye Use of Sassafras
16:16 Sassafras’ Medicinal Properties
20:00 Eating Sassafras leaves, stems, and pith
21:49 How Sassafras Gave Us Root Beer…And What Went Wrong
25:27 The Great Sassafras Hunts for Saloop
27:33 The Invention of Root Beer
28:50 Making Fermented vs. Carbonated Root Beer
30:24 Growing Sassafras for Beauty, Hedges, Specimen Trees, and Remediation
36:05 Water Break: Love Your Library
37:28 Cola Nut? Kola Nut? Pick Your Spelling.
39:54 West African Names for Cola Nut
40:58 The Etymology of Cola Nut
42:56 The Cola Tree, Both Evergreen and Deciduous
43:55 Cola’s Unusual Flowering and Fruiting Habit
45:45 Cola Range and Cultivation
46:44 The Cola Nut: A Fleshy Pod
47:57 Culinary and Medicinal Uses of Cola
51:00 Cultural and Hospitality Uses in West Africa
52:29 Cola Nut Harvesting
53:20 The Invention of Coca Cola
54:40 1880 Ad for Coca Cola, an “Intellectual Beverage”
56:11 Conclusion and Contact Us
