Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Magnoliids: Laurales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Sassafras albidum
FAMILY
Lauraceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
You may also want to check Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina
Learn more about Sassafras from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Sassafras albidum
FAMILY
Lauraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Sassafras albidum
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 084-02-001:
Sassafras albidum FAMILY Lauraceae
COMMON NAME:
Sassafras
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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Trees You Want to Know (Peattie, 1934); illustration by F.A. Michaux dcp34_p36
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JK Marlow jkm191222_2365_s_albidum
Clay County AL
Cheaha State Park
Before medical restrictions forbade it, Sassafras roots were a principal ingredient of root beer, per Identifying Trees: An All-Season Guide to Eastern North America (Williams, 2007).
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USDA Forest Service / A Guide to Medicinal Plants of Appalachia. 1969 mpa_page_229
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Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905) mtna_i_395
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / US Forest Service pnd_saal5_002_lhd
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_sasa17_001_lvd
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_sassafras_albidum
January
Bark grayish to brown, thickening w age, fissured and with elongated ridges, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).
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JK Marlow jkm0502a_03
February Greenville County SC
Roadside
Twigs greenish, spicy scented, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance).
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JK Marlow jkm0403q_15
March Greenville County SC
Roadside
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JK Marlow jkm0403q_16
March Greenville County SC
Roadside
)
JK Marlow jkm0403q_21
March Greenville County SC
Roadside
)
JK Marlow jkm150311_832
March Pickens County SC
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Keith Bradley kab_s_albidum_2972
March Lexington County SC
Perianth segments 6, each 3-5mm long, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
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JK Marlow jkm0304a_05
April Greenville County SC
Roadside
)
JK Marlow jkm0404a_23
April Greenville County SC
Roadside
COMPARE
flowers of Sassafras and Spicebush
)
JK Marlow jkm130420_539
April Transylvania County NC
Foothills Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm160504_412
May Jackson County NC
Panthertown
)
JK Marlow jkm220503_7488
May Greenville County SC
Bald Rock Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm250521_0500
May Greenville County SC
Poinsett Bridge Heritage Preserve
)
Keith Bradley kab_s_albidum_73728
May Polk County NC
Norman Wilder Forest
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_sassafras_albidum_2
May MA
Arnold Arboretum
)
JK Marlow jkm160603_863
June Jackson County NC
Foothills Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm200613_5905
June Jackson County NC
Foothills Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm210626_1689
June Oconee County SC
Sumter National Forest: Andrew Pickens Ranger District
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JK Marlow jkm0307h_01
July Greenville County SC
Jones Gap State Park
)
JK Marlow jkm090718_041
July Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm250723_1827
July Greenville County SC
Poinsett Bridge Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm170818_665
August Jackson County NC
Big Ridge Preserve
Slicing off the surface of the bark will reveal a pale orange inner bark, per Identifying Trees: An All-Season Guide to Eastern North America (Williams, 2007).
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_sassafras_albidum_6
August
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JK Marlow s040814_a
August Transylvania County NC
Roadside
)
Will Stuart wil_9713885726_ebc18cf353
September Chesterfield County SC
Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge
Fruit is a blue-black drupe on a red stalk, mature in August, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).
COMPARE
fruit of Lauraceae family
)
JK Marlow jkm0210m_00
October Henderson County NC
Roadside
Leaves may be brilliant yellow, orange, or red, per Fall Color & Woodland Harvests (Bell & Lindsey, 1990).
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JK Marlow jkm0410h_10
October Rutherford County NC
Chimney Rock Park
)
JK Marlow jkm0410i_32
October Rutherford County NC
Chimney Rock Park
)
JK Marlow s041024_a
October Greenville County SC
Roadside
)
JK Marlow s041024_b
October Greenville County SC
Roadside
Leaves can be unlobed, mitten-shaped, or 3-lobed; margins entire, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance).
COMPARE
leaves of Giant Ragweed and Sassafras
)
JK Marlow s041027_d
October Henderson County NC
DuPont State Forest
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JK Marlow s061021_a
October Greenville County SC
)
Dan Whitten sdw_102123_mysterytree
October Greenville County SC
Mountain Bridge Wilderness
)
Sam Pratt sbp_2127
November Franklin County TN
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Sassafras albidum
FAMILY
Lauraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Sassafras albidum
FAMILY
Lauraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Sassafras albidum
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 084-02-001:
Sassafras albidum
FAMILY
Lauraceae
1330
Tree
Perennial
Dioecious
Habitat: A wide variety of forests, old fields, disturbed areas, fencerows, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Deciduous
Simple
Alternate
FLOWER:
Spring
Yellow
Radially symmetrical
3-merous
6 deciduous tepals
9 fertile stamens on staminate flowers
Superior ovary
Unisexual
FRUIT:
Summer
Blue-black
Drupe
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p071
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p316
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p198
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p242
- How to Recognize Shrubs (Grimm, 1966) p112
- Identifying Trees: An All-Season Guide to Eastern North America (Williams, 2007) p356
- Landscaping with Native Trees (Sternberg & Wilson, 1995) p235
- Native Alternatives to Invasive Plants p051
- Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989) p061
- Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007) p229
- Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988) p198
- Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry (Porcher, 1995) p143
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p087
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance) p25
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p261
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p320
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