Sassafras

Here we have the Sassafras, or Sassafras albidum, a tree common throughout the Midwest and easily identifiable by its three distinct leaf types. While older trees typically have perfectly ovate, football-shaped leaves, younger trees display all three leaf shapes, including two-lobed, mitten-shaped, and three-lobed, ghost-shaped leaves. All leaves are rich green, shiny, and smooth, exuding a strong, spicy scent when crushed. Though it can reach up to 90 feet, the Sassafras tree is often much smaller. This long-lived, fast-growing tree can live up to 1,000 years. The Sassafras has an unsymmetrical crown with twisted branches, making it visually distinctive in the forest. Its mature bark is dark reddish-brown, deeply fissured with interlacing, flat, thick ridges, and reveals a spicy-scented orange inner bark. In April, clusters of greenish-yellow flowers bloom alongside the unique leaves. By fall, the tree produces dark-blue, berry-like fruit atop red stalks.