LAURÀCEAE. The Laurel Family.
SÁSSAFRAS. The Sassafras.
Sassafras officinàle Nees and Ebermaier. Sassafras. Red Sassafras. White Sassafras. [Plate 69.] Small to large trees; bark aromatic, smooth on young trees, reddish-brown and deeply furrowed on old trees, resembling that of black walnut; branchlets yellowish-green, splotched more or less with sooty spots; twigs at first more or less hairy, soon becoming smooth or remaining more or less hairy until autumn, more or less glaucous, especially the smooth forms; buds more or less pubescent, the axillary ones usually more or less hairy, the outer scales of the terminal one usually smooth and glaucous; leaves simple, alternate, ovate, elliptic to obovate, blades 5-16 cm. long, entire or with 1-5 lobes, narrowed at the base, the apex and terminal of the lobes acute, both surfaces hairy when they expand, generally becoming smooth above and beneath, or more often remaining more or less pubescent beneath, the midrib and two lateral veins usually prominent beneath; petioles 0.5-5 cm. long, hairy at first, becoming smooth or more often retaining some pubescence; flowers appear before or with the leaves in April or May, small, yellow or greenish, the male and female generally on different trees, on racemes up to 4 cm. long; flower stalks usually pubescent, sometimes smooth; fruit an oblong, blue-black, glaucous berry which matures late in summer; fruit generally 7-10 mm. long, on a stalk including the pedicel and raceme up to 9 cm. long.
SASSAFRAS OFFICINALE Nees and Ebermaier. Sassafras. (× 1/2.)
Distribution.—Maine, southern Ontario to Iowa and south to Florida and west to Texas. No doubt it was formerly found in every county of Indiana. In the northern part of the State it is more local in its distribution than in the southern counties. In the northern counties where it is local it is found in colonies on sandy or clayey ridges. Sassafras is usually considered an indicator of poorer soils, hence, in the central counties it is often very local. It is frequent to common throughout the hilly counties of the southern part of the State. In this part of the State it becomes a pernicious weed tree. It soon invades fence rows and fallow fields, and is extremely difficult to kill out. It is rarely found in wet situations; however, in Sullivan and Clay Counties large trees have been observed in low alluvial ground, associated with the white elm, etc.