sassafras

In a previous Tree of the Week, I featured sassafras, but noted that I did not have an image of their very cool-looking fruits, though I once did have said image. I figured that I had electronically misplaced or that it was from all the way back in the Kodachrome Slide Era (somewhere between the Dirt Age and the Middle-Age Anthropocene).  So…

Voila. I have seen bright carmine red fruits, and here you can see both the early speckled green phase and cool grape-Kool Aid purple. Sassafras, a lovely native tree.

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  Sassafras was the bygl-alert Tree of the Week last July 29, but a reprise is in order. First of all, the emerging leaves and flowers have blown me away anew this Spring. Secondly, such a great horticulturist as Deb Knapke e-mailed me that “This is the first time I have seen the flowers of sassafras; loved it!” in response to the use of a sassafras flower picture in one of my Springtime bygl-alerts this year. 

  Sassafras (Sassafras albidum) is a lovely native woodland tree which is used more and more in landscaping. It is typically a medium-sized tree up to 30-50 feet in height but the national champion in Kentucky exceeds 100 feet. Leaves are variable, some entire, some mitten-liked and two-lobed, some three-lobed. Fall color can range from attractive yellows to yellow-orange, especially effective as a grove of sassafras trees.

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