Sassasfras

Description

Botanical Name:  Sassafras albidum

Common Name:  Sassafras, White Sassafras, Cinnamon Wood, Mitten Tree, Saloop, Smelling Stick

Description:  Fast growing, medium-size tree, 35 – 50′ tall x 25 – 40′ spread, that is native to East Texas. Blooms pretty yellow flowers in early Spring. which then turn into deep blue/black berries in the Fall that the birds love to eat.  Want a tree that’ll give you pretty Fall color?? Then the Sassafras is for you! Its mitten-shaped leaves turn shades of bright orange, red, and salmon for a beautiful show before they drop. Sassafras likes moist, well drained soils that are acidic. Can spread to form thickets, which means it makes a great hedgerow. But if you want to grow it as a specimen tree, it’s pretty easy to control the new growth popping up. It’s nowhere as difficult to control as say live oaks. Plant in sun to part shade. Has a large tap root, so don’t disturb after it’s become established. Sassafras is edible and has medicinal value. And, get this, it’s the host plant for the Spicebush butterfly, Tiger Swallowtail, Palamedes butterflies, Pale Swallowtail, and other butterflies and moths!

Hardiness Zone 4 – 9