Are these sassafras trees?
I haven't saw many trees like this before, they're very tall and skinny, I was wondering what they were in case I want to cut them or decide how long their life span is. (The trees with the knots? bulbs? not sure what you would call them properly.)
- ElizabethB
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 2105
- Joined: Sat Nov 24, 2012 12:53 am
- Location: Lafayette, LA
Hi Brad - welcome to the forum. My first impression is no. They are usually much fuller. It really is impossible to identify with out close up photos of the foliage. Sassafras foliage is unique. There is no one leaf shape. One tree will have a variety of different leaf shapes.
Sassafras grows wild around out fishing camp on Toledo Bend Reservoir on the Louisiana/Texas border.
I harvest the leaves to make Gumbo File. Dried and finely ground the leaves are used as a thickening and flavoring agent in Cajun Gumbo.
Sassafras grows wild around out fishing camp on Toledo Bend Reservoir on the Louisiana/Texas border.
I harvest the leaves to make Gumbo File. Dried and finely ground the leaves are used as a thickening and flavoring agent in Cajun Gumbo.
- ElizabethB
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 2105
- Joined: Sat Nov 24, 2012 12:53 am
- Location: Lafayette, LA
- rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
- GardeningCook
- Greener Thumb
- Posts: 787
- Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2015 8:35 pm
- Location: Upper Piedmont area of Virginia, Zone 7a
I agree that your pic is too distant to really make any definitive I.d., but I would also venture to guess no, these are not Sassafras. As another poster stated, regardless of height, Sassafras are normally much fuller & multi-branched. In the absence of leaves, if you can manage to reach & snap/crush a fresh stem/branch, a Sassafras will reward you with its signature scent.
Here are a few links with Sassafras info & pics:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sassafras
https://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/sassafras.htm
https://tree-pictures.com/sassafras_tree_photos.html
Here are a few links with Sassafras info & pics:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sassafras
https://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/sassafras.htm
https://tree-pictures.com/sassafras_tree_photos.html
- GardeningCook
- Greener Thumb
- Posts: 787
- Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2015 8:35 pm
- Location: Upper Piedmont area of Virginia, Zone 7a
catgrass wrote:Instead of trying to get a branch and smell a leaf-the smell is not real distinct until they start to die-try knicking a root.
Not so. I have them growing all around our property & around my barn & a crushed fresh leaf - even when they're just leafing out like they are now - releases a strong delightful scent. In fact, I just had to remove a number of stray seedlings from around our deck this morning (birds LOVE the drupes & thus end up seeding Sassafras all over the place here) & the scent is everywhere now.