OF THE CAROLINAS & GEORGIA

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



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.

image of Sassafras albidum, Sassafras

Trees You Want to Know (Peattie, 1934); illustration by F.A. Michaux    dcp34_p36

        

image of Sassafras albidum, Sassafras

JK Marlow    jkm191222_2365_s_albidum

    Clay County    AL

Cheaha State Park

image of Sassafras albidum, Sassafras

USDA Forest Service / A Guide to Medicinal Plants of Appalachia. 1969    mpa_page_229

        

image of Sassafras albidum, Sassafras

Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905)    mtna_i_395

        

image of Sassafras albidum, Sassafras

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / US Forest Service    pnd_saal5_002_lhd

        

image of Sassafras albidum, Sassafras

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913    pnd_sasa17_001_lvd

        

image of Sassafras albidum, Sassafras

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).

image of Sassafras albidum, Sassafras

JK Marlow    jkm0502a_03

February    Greenville County    SC

Roadside

Twigs greenish, spicy scented, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance).

image of Sassafras albidum, Sassafras

JK Marlow    jkm0303y_16

March    Greenville County    SC

Roadside

Clusters of yellow flowers appear before the leaves, per Wild Flowers of NC, 1st edition.

image of Sassafras albidum, Sassafras

JK Marlow    jkm0403q_15

March    Greenville County    SC

Roadside

image of Sassafras albidum, Sassafras

JK Marlow    jkm0403q_16

March    Greenville County    SC

Roadside

image of Sassafras albidum, Sassafras

JK Marlow    jkm0403q_21

March    Greenville County    SC

Roadside

image of Sassafras albidum, Sassafras

JK Marlow    jkm150311_832

March    Pickens County    SC

image of Sassafras albidum, Sassafras

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).

image of Sassafras albidum, Sassafras

JK Marlow    jkm0304a_05

April    Greenville County    SC

Roadside

The original source of root beer, per Weakley's Flora.

image of Sassafras albidum, Sassafras

JK Marlow    jkm0304a_21

April    Greenville County    SC

Roadside

image of Sassafras albidum, Sassafras

JK Marlow    jkm0404a_23

April    Greenville County    SC

Roadside


click here to see other plants that look similar to this COMPARE flowers of Sassafras and Spicebush

image of Sassafras albidum, Sassafras

JK Marlow    jkm130420_539

April    Transylvania County    NC

Foothills Trail

image of Sassafras albidum, Sassafras

JK Marlow    jkm160504_412

May    Jackson County    NC

Panthertown

image of Sassafras albidum, Sassafras

JK Marlow    jkm220503_7488

May    Greenville County    SC

Bald Rock Heritage Preserve

image of Sassafras albidum, Sassafras

Keith Bradley    kab_s_albidum_73728

May    Polk County    NC

Norman Wilder Forest

image of Sassafras albidum, Sassafras

Richard and Teresa Ware    rtw_sassafras_albidum_2

May        MA

Arnold Arboretum

image of Sassafras albidum, Sassafras

JK Marlow    jkm160603_863

June    Jackson County    NC

Foothills Trail

image of Sassafras albidum, Sassafras

JK Marlow    jkm160603_864

June    Jackson County    NC

Foothills Trail

Oh my!

image of Sassafras albidum, Sassafras

JK Marlow    jkm200613_5905

June    Jackson County    NC

Foothills Trail

image of Sassafras albidum, Sassafras

JK Marlow    jkm210626_1689

June    Oconee County    SC

Sumter National Forest: Andrew Pickens Ranger District

image of Sassafras albidum, Sassafras

JK Marlow    jkm0307h_01

July    Greenville County    SC

Jones Gap State Park

image of Sassafras albidum, Sassafras

JK Marlow    jkm090718_041

July    Greenville County    SC

image of Sassafras albidum, Sassafras

JK Marlow    jkm170818_665

August    Jackson County    NC

Big Ridge Preserve

image of Sassafras albidum, Sassafras

Richard and Teresa Ware    rtw_sassafras_albidum_6

August        

image of Sassafras albidum, Sassafras

JK Marlow    s040814_a

August    Transylvania County    NC

Roadside

image of Sassafras albidum, Sassafras

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).


click here to see other plants that look similar to this COMPARE fruit of Lauraceae family

image of Sassafras albidum, Sassafras

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).

image of Sassafras albidum, Sassafras

JK Marlow    jkm0410h_10

October    Rutherford County    NC

Chimney Rock Park

image of Sassafras albidum, Sassafras

JK Marlow    jkm0410i_32

October    Rutherford County    NC

Chimney Rock Park

image of Sassafras albidum, Sassafras

JK Marlow    s041024_a

October    Greenville County    SC

Roadside

image of Sassafras albidum, Sassafras

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).


click here to see other plants that look similar to this COMPARE leaves of Giant Ragweed and Sassafras

image of Sassafras albidum, Sassafras

JK Marlow    s041027_d

October    Henderson County    NC

DuPont State Forest

image of Sassafras albidum, Sassafras

JK Marlow    s061021_a

October    Greenville County    SC

image of Sassafras albidum, Sassafras

Dan Whitten    sdw_102123_mysterytree

October    Greenville County    SC

Mountain Bridge Wilderness

image of Sassafras albidum, Sassafras

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

 

Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME:

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

map
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.

Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)

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!



 


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