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

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