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Sassafras
albidum |
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Common Sassafras |
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Eastern United States |
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Usually a medium-sized tree
with many short, stout, contorted branches, with
spread abruptly to form a flat-topped,
irregular, oblong crown, sometimes shrubby and
forming thickets. |
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30-60 feet tall with a spread
of 25-40 feet |
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Plants are
dioecious.
Flowers are yellow, fragrant, borne in terminal
racemes, 1-2 inches long, before the leaves |
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April |
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Leaves are alternate, simple,
entire, 3-5 inches long of three
shapes-elliptic, mitten-shaped or 3 lobed,
bright green in color, fragrant when crushed. |
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Fall color is an outstanding
yellow, orange, red, to purple. |
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Buds are egg-shaped, green
tinged with red, 4 scaled. |
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Bark is dark reddish-brown,
deeply ridged and furrowed, corky,
basket-weaved. Stems are bright yellowish-green,
smooth, with a waxy bloom, spicy aromatic when
crushed. |
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Fruit is a dark blue, oval
drupe, ˝ inch long, borne on a bright red
pedicel, ripening in September and quickly devoured
by birds. |
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Sassafras is one of
those trees that forms a true taproot and is,
therefore, difficult to transplant. There are
reports that some nurseries have developed
techniques to overcome this problem but
Sassafras is still difficult to find in the
nursery trade. |
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The oil of
sassafras is distilled from the roots and the
bark and it was from these that sassafras tea
was made by the early settlers. |
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