Sassafras is a common tree with an amazing smell. You can usually find it growing it along forest edges facing the sun; and it’s usually one of the first trees to fill in new spaces. Sassafras is a native deciduous tree with smooth green leaves that appear in three distinct shapes (oval, mitten-shaped, and three-lobed), giving the tree a unique and easily recognizable form. It grows with a light, open structure and a spreading canopy, often forming small groves through root suckering.
Sassafras (Sassafras albidum)
•Early season nectar source for native bees and insects.
•Acts as a host plant for spicebush swallowtail butterflies.
•Berries are eaten by wild turkeys, various songbirds, and various native birds.
•Deers, rabbits, and small mammals occasionally browse the leaves and use the young trees as cover.
•Root systems help stabilize soils and prevent erosion.
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