Sassafras

FEATURED TREE OF THE MONTH

By Steve Wing

Sassafras leavesOctober is the month to have Sassafras (Sassafras albidum) on one’s mind; its fall color is outstanding. A native tree, common from Maine to Florida and Texas, and west to Michigan, the Sassafras has many noteworthy and noticeable attributes. The name is apparently derived from a Native American word.
The leaves, while variable, are famously ‘mitten shaped’, with one blunt lobe making a ‘thumb’ and the rest, the hand. Another common form of the leaves is a more symmetrical three lobed version, with the middle lobe being the largest. Some leaves are entire—without lobes; fortunately for tree identifiers, all these variations can be found on the same branch of the same tree. The twigs and young branches of the tree are green and smooth, similar to young blueberry stems. With age they develop a rougher texture and a tan color. The bark of the mature trees is a deeply fissured, corky bark, also striking. The blossoms are yellow-green to pink and delicately star-shaped; easily noted if you’re looking, but not showy and easily missed by the casual observer. The fruit of the trees is a small drupe (a cherry is a drupe) which I have never seen. According to Michael Dirr, the fruit are rapidly consumed by birds and may never ‘hit the ground’. All parts of the tree, leaves, roots, bark and woody parts, are infused with aromatic oils of pinae and camphor; Sassafras tea and the like are folk, brewed from roots or bark, are folk remedies for ‘what ails you’ of long standing. Sassafras bark was an early export from North America to Europe in the colonial era. But it is the fall color of the foliage which makes the tree a star. On the same tree you will see a full palette of color from greens, yellows, oranges, and reds. Also, I have noticed early color changes in isolated leaves of sassafras as early as August, giving a little advanced notice of the impending change in the season.
The tree has fleshy, not fibrous, roots, which makes transplanting it from the wild difficult to impossible. In nature, new trees are produced by suckering off the roots of an established tree, forming colonies. In suburbia, trees will often form linear colonies along fence lines between neighboring properties. In the landscape industry, Sassafras is not widely used, a fact attributable to the high mortality rate.
Sassafras drupeThe young plants are frequently seen on the woodland floor, or in colonizing thickets along the edge of the woods. Juvenile trees, growing in the open, develop a pyramidal shape. With age, the trees produce massive trunks, and a ruggedly asymmetrical array of branches supporting a broadly oval crown.
In Milford, we have several impressive Sassafras trees. On Gunn Street, between Ford Street and West Main Street, there are several on the property of former Mayor Kozlowski (31 Gunn Street). One of these was measured and determined to be the fifth largest in the state. One on Bridgeport Avenue in front of Bridges (949 Bridgeport Ave.) is of similar stature, but has suffered greatly at the hands of the utility company’s pruning to protect lines running though its crown.
In Milford, we have several impressive Sassafras trees. On Gunn Street, between ford Street and West Main Street, there are several on the property of former Mayor Kozlowski (31 Gunn Street). One of these was measured and determined to be the fifth largest in the state. One of Bridgeport Avenue in front of Bridges (949 Bridgeport Ave.) is of similar stature, but has suffered greatly at the hands of the utility company's pruning to protect lines running through its crown.