Sassafras
Sassafras
albidum
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Sassafras is very common
in Virginia, and it can be a shrub
or a tree.
As a tree, it can grow up to 60 feet.
Sassafras has three
differently shaped leaves: three-lobed
(see above), mitten-shaped, and simple (no lobes). Leaves
are three to five inches long. In Fall, they turn red,
yellow and orange.
Sassafras are most often
seen as an understory
shrub beneath larger trees, such as Virginia Pine, Eastern
White Pine, Sweetgum, Yellow Poplar, or oaks. They often
grow alongside Black Cherry, American Beech, American
Hornbeam, Eastern Red Cedar, as well as others.
Sassafras is
allelopathic
to some plants, such as American Elm. This means it releases
a chemical which keeps these plants from growing well. This
allows Sassafras to grow better, without so much
competition.
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Sassafras flowers are
greenish-yellow, and grow in clusters.
They usually only last for a few days. The fruits, called
drupes,
are dark blue.
Sassafras are one of the
first shrubs to begin growing in a field.
This means it is a pioneer
plant. Later, it will be pushed out by larger trees or
reduced to an understory plant.
Sassafras can grow new
trunks from an old stump.
The bark
of Sassafras is gray-brown with furrows
(big wrinkles).
Sassafras
twigs
are green.
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Sassafras is an important
plant to many animals. The leaves and twigs are eaten by
White-tailed Deer. Leaves are also eaten by Woodchucks and
Eastern Cottontails. Stems are munched on by American
Beaver.
Fruits are eaten by many
birds, including: Great Crested Flycatchers, Wild Turkey,
Pileated Woodpeckers, Flickers, and Northern Mockingbirds.
Small mammals
also eat the fruit.
Caterpillars
of butterflies, such as the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, eat
leaves also.
Sassafras counts on
animals to eat its fruit. Most animals do not digest the
seeds. Later, when the animal poops, the seed has been move
to a new place and can grow a new tree!
European Gypsy Moths, a
pest
to most trees, only eat Sassafras if other trees, such as
oaks, are not available. They actually help Sassafras grow
when they eat leaves of other trees. This allows more
sunlight to reach the shorter Sassafras.
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