Sassafras

Sassafras albidum (Nutt.) Nees

Laurel family

Plant Type

Tree, Shrub

Life Cycle

Perennial

Flower Color

Yellow, Green, Brown

Bloom Time

Early Spring, Mid Spring

Growing Conditions

Light

Shade Tolerance Tolerant

Water

Water Use Low

Soil

CaCO3 Tolerance High

Ecosystem & Wildlife

Pollinators Native Bees; Bombus; Beetles, Wasps, Flies; Butterflies; Larval Host (Butterfly); Larval Host (Moth)

Larval Host Acronicta sperata, Apatelodes torrefacta, Automeris io io, Callosamia angulifera, Callosamia promethea, Caloptilia sassafrasella, Citheronia regalis, Eacles imperialis, Eacles imperialis imperialis, Epimecis hortaria, Eutrapela clemataria, Helicoverpa zea, Hyalophora cecropia, Hyphantria cunae, Lymantria dispar, Megalopyge crispata, Melanolophia signataria, Metarranthis hypochraria, Morrisonia latex, Orgyia leucostigma, Pandemis lamprosana, Papilio glaucus glaucus, Papilio palamedes, Papilio troilus, Phaecasiophora niveiguttana, Samia cynthia cynthia, Thorybes ephemeraeformis

Native Range

USA: Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode I., South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia
CAN: Ontario

Regional Native Status: L48 (N), CAN (N)

State-level native status is based on data available through Plants of the World Online. Regional Native Status comes from the USDA Plants Database. For more detailed native status information, please refer to BONAP.