{"id":318,"date":"2025-09-25T20:09:42","date_gmt":"2025-09-26T00:09:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/?p=318"},"modified":"2025-09-25T20:09:43","modified_gmt":"2025-09-26T00:09:43","slug":"sassafras","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/trees\/sassafras\/","title":{"rendered":"Sassafras"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns sidebar is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:50%\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><em><em><em><em><em><em><em><em><em><em>Sassafras albidum<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-intro\">Sassafras is a deciduous tree native to eastern North America known for its distinctive leaf shape, reminiscent of a dinosaur\u2019s foot. The tree is very aromatic and historically was used to flavor root beer!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<aside class=\"wp-block-group boxout has-light-green-background-color has-background is-content-justification-left is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-12dd3699 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Location<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Perhaps the best location to spot a Sassafras is near the stone wall entrance to the arboretum on Lovell Street. Look down the East-West trail, along Lovell Street, and see if you can spot either of the two Sassafras trees nestled there.<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:50%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/sassafras-leaf.jpg\" alt=\"Sassafras Tree leaves\" class=\"wp-image-320\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/sassafras-leaf.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/sassafras-leaf-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/sassafras-leaf-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:4rem\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull section-intro has-light-warm-gray-background-color has-background is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-stretch is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<div style=\"background-image:url(&apos;https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/sassafras-tree.jpg&apos;);background-position:50% 50%;background-size:cover;\" class=\"wp-block-group padded lifted has-white-background-color has-background wp-container-content-69bc4bdf is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div style=\"height:25.625rem\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group padded has-charcoal-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-b26f1e10678686eec7829b1b16639bba is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">History at Hadwen<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"intro has-medium-font-size\">In 1900, Hadwen notes the sassafrass as one of the many deciduous trees growing on his farm, \u201cwell worthy of planting.\u201d The sassafrass is recorded again in documents from 1971, and 1978, before being recorded most recently in 2020.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group section is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\"><div style=\"color:var(--clarku-color-green)\" class=\"eyebrow  has-text-align-left\">Keep learning<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Detailed species information<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Sassafras is a deciduous tree in the family Lauraceae native to eastern North America. Typically, it grows 35 feet (11 meters) in height and 12 inches (30 centimeters) in trunk diameter. The smooth bark is orange-brown or red-brown and furrowed. The most distinct characteristic of the sassafras is the leaves which are alternately arranged on the stem and have three different shapes: entire, mitten-shaped, and three-lobed. The most common leaf shape for sassafras is the three-lobed shape which is said to resemble the footprint of a dinosaur. The small, six-petaled flowers are yellow in color and the fruit is a dark blue drupe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sassafras can be found in a variety of habitats, including forest edges and fields. Sassafras is considered shade intolerant and thrives in rich, well-drained soils. Many parts of the sassafras tree provide food for wildlife, especially the fruits which are an important food source for birds such as phoebes, woodpeckers, and thrushes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sassafras can be found in a variety of habitats, including forest edges and fields. Sassafras is considered shade intolerant and thrives in rich, well-drained soils. Many parts of the sassafras tree provide food for wildlife, especially the fruits which are an important food source for birds such as phoebes, woodpeckers, and thrushes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sassafras albidum Sassafras is a deciduous tree native to eastern North America known for its distinctive leaf shape, reminiscent of a dinosaur\u2019s foot. The tree is very aromatic and historically was used to flavor root beer! Location Perhaps the best location to spot a Sassafras is near the stone wall entrance to the arboretum on [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":320,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-318","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trees"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.2 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Sassafras | Hadwen Arboretum | Clark University<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/trees\/sassafras\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sassafras\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Sassafras albidum Sassafras is a deciduous tree native to eastern North America known for its distinctive leaf shape, reminiscent of a dinosaur\u2019s foot. 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