Important Forest Trees of the United States 



783 



53. Sassafras. 54. Red mulberry. 55. Osage-orange. 



56. Sweetgum. 



53. SASSAFRAS, Sassafras albidum (Nutt. ) Nees (common sassafras; S. officinale Nees 

 & Eberm., S. variifolium (Salisb.) Ktze.). 



Medium-sized tree (sometimes large) with aromatic odor and taste, eastern half of 

 United States and southern Ontario. Bark reddish brown, deeply furrowed. Leaves oval 

 or elliptical, 3 to 5 inches long, blunt-pointed, often 2- or 3-lobed, with smooth edges, 

 bright green above, paler and smooth or hairy beneath, turning orange or scarlet in fall. 

 Flowers about % inch long, yellow, in small clusters in early spring. Fruits egg-shaped, 

 Ys inch long, dark blue, with fleshy red stalk. 



Principal uses: Fence posts. Lumber occasionally mixed with that of black ash (No. 

 36). Sassafras tea and oil of sassafras, used to perfume soap, are prepared from roots 

 and root bark. Shade tree and ornamental. 



cc. Leaves not aromatic, edges smooth, toothed, or lobed; twigs brown or gray, 

 d. Juice milky. 



e. Leaves toothed, sometimes 2- or 3-lobed; twigs not spiny MULBERRY 

 (Morus). 



54. RED MULBERRY, Morus rubra L. (mulberry). 



Medium-sized tree of eastern half of United States and southern Ontario. Bark dark 

 brown, fissured and scaly. Leaves broadly oval or heart-shaped, 3 to 7 inches long, 

 abruptly long-pointed, coarsely toothed, sometimes 2- or 3-lobed, rough above, soft-hairy 

 beneath. Fruits 1 inch long, dark purple or black, sweet, juicy, and edible, known as 

 mulberries. 



Principal uses: Wood used locally for fence posts, furniture, interior finish, agricultural 

 implements, and cooperage. Shade tree. Edible mulberries, eaten also by domestic 

 animals and wildlife. 



ee. Leaves with smooth edges; twigs spiny OSAGE-ORANGE (Madura}. 



55. OSAGE-ORANGE, Madura pomifera (Raf.) Schneid. (bodark, mockorange, bow- 

 wood, hedge; Toxylon pomiferum Raf.). 



Medium-sized tree with milky juice, native of Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and 

 Texas but naturalized in eastern half of United States except northern border. Bark 

 orange brown, deeply furrowed. Twigs with stout straight spines YQ to 1 inch long. Leaves 

 oval or narrowly oval, 2 to 5 inches long, long-pointed, with smooth edges, shiny dark 

 green above and paler beneath. Fruit a yellowish ball 4 to 5 inches in diameter. 



Principal uses: Extensively planted for shelterbelts, hedges, ornament, and shade. The 



