Sassafras

:This page is about the Sassafras tree. Sassafras, Victoria is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sassafras albidum

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sassafras randaiense

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sassafras tzumu

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sassafras is a genus of three species of deciduous trees in the family Lauraceae, native to eastern North America and eastern Asia.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sassafras trees grow from 15-35 m tall and 70-150 cm diameter, with many slender branches, and smooth, orange-brown bark. The branching is sympodial. The bark of the mature trunk is thick, red-brown, and deeply furrowed. The wood is light, soft, weak, and brittle. All parts of the plants are very fragrant.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The species are unusual in having three distinct leaf patterns on the same plant; unlobed oval, bilobed (mitten-shaped), and trilobed (three pronged). They have smooth margins and grow 7-20 cm long by 5-10 cm broad. The young leaves and twigs are quite mucilaginous. The tiny, yellow flowers are five-petaled and bloom in the spring; they are dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate trees. The fruit are blue-black, egg-shaped, 1 cm long, produced on long, red-stalked cups, and mature in late summer.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The name "Sassafras", applied by the Spanish botanist Monardes in the sixteenth century, is said to be a corruption of the Spanish word for saxifrage.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sassafras, Victoria: Sassafras is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Yarra Ranges....

Melbourne: Melbourne is the capital and largest city of the state of Victoria, and the second largest city in Australia (after Sydney), with a population of 3.8 million in the Melbourne metropolitan area (June 2004) and 69,670 in the City of Melbourne (which covers only the central city area). The city's name ...

Victoria: Victoria may refer to:...