| General Description | Forms a thicket of saplings around the parent plant. It eventually forms a flat-topped tree with an irregular head and can reach a height about 20 m. |
| ID Characteristic | It is easily recognized by its mitten-shaped leafs and its intense egg-yellow autumn colour. In older specimens the bark is a red-brown colour and has deep ridges. |
| Shape | Grows initially as a small shrub but soon turns into a thicket of saplings around the parent plant. |
| Propagation | Seed require 4 months moist stratification at 5°C. Cuttings collected in early winter and placed under mist produce sporadic rooting. Dirr suggests a medium of 2:1:1 peat/loam/sand. It may also be propagated by root cuttings. |
| Cultivation | Often found as a thicket, pruning is required to produce a single stem specimen. Prefers freely draining, loamy solis that have a higher pH. Difficult to transplant because of its extensive tap root |
| Pests | Sassafras is susceptible to European gypsy moths, Japanese horned beetle and sassafras weevil.
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| Notable Specimens | The Niagara Parks Botanical Gardens, Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. Joansy's Wood, North Middlesex County, Ontario, Canada. |
| Bark/Stem Description | Sassafras has a distinctive bark that is a red-brown in colour. Older specimens have deeply rigged bark which produces an orange dye.
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| Flower/Leaf Bud Description | The terminal bud is solitary and ovoid with about 4–6 scales and is about 85 mm long. The lateral buds are small and green. |
| Leaf Description | The leaf colour is medium-green and leaves and are mitten-shaped. Leaves can range from 7–18 cm long and 5–10 cm wide with two-lobed or elliptical with no lobes. In the autumn they change to shades of yellow, orange or red. |
| Flower Description | The plant has small yellow-green flowers about 2.5 cm long and 1 cm wide. The flower appears before the leaf emerges.
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| Fruit Description | The Sassafras fruit ripens in September and are dark blue berries that found on bright red stalks, which are about 1.27 cm long.
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| Colour Description | During the summer months the leaves are medium green, during autumn months the leaves change to orange, yellow, red and purple. |
| Texture Description | Leaves are smooth with rounded edges, while the bark is rough in texture. |
