Sassafras - Sassafras Albidum

by: Helena Noh, 6th grade, Hilsman Middle School

Description:Aromatic tree and thicket-forming shrub with variously shaped leaves and narrow, spreading crown of short, stout branches. Leaves are 7.5 to 13cm long, elliptical with two mitten-shaped lobes or three broad and blunt lobes. Long, slender leafstalksis pinnatly compound.

Bark:Gray-brown and becoming thick and deeply furrowed.

Fruit:10mm long:elliptical shiny, bluish-black berries.

Habitat:Moist, sandy soils of upland and valleys. Infield and clearings.

Range:Extreme South Ontario east to Southwest Maine, south to central Florida, west to East Texas, and north to central Michigan.

Reference:Audubon Society Field Guide To North American Trees.