Sassafras albidum

Sassafras

Medium sized tree with short branches. Fast growing, deciduous, with leaves sometimes resembling one- or two- fingered mittens .Bright green in summer, orange to scarlet in fall. Leaves and stems are aromatic. Dark reddish brown corky bark. Full sun to light shade, moist well-drained soil. Will tolerate poor, gravelly, acidic soil. Native to RI. 30-60’ x 25-40’.

©William S. Justice. Courtesy of Smithsonian Institution, Dept. of Systematic Biology, Botany

Image courtesy of Virginia Tech. Department of Forestry.