Daniel Paul Merriweather grew up in the Melbourne suburb of Sassafras in the Dandenong Ranges.
Sassafras | Doryphora sassafras | Sassafras, Victoria | Sassafras albidum |
The larvae feed on various plants and have been recorded on Acer, Eupatorium, Helianthus, Dianthus caryophyllus, Helianthemum, Hypericum perforatum, Rhododendron, Trifolium, Sassafras, Gossypium hirsutum, Gossypium thurberi, Fragaria, Prunus persica, Rosa and Citrus species.
Most commercial root beers have replaced the sassafras extract with methyl salicylate, the ester found in wintergreen and black birch (Betula lenta) bark.