Family: Lauraceae, Laurel
Height: 30 to 60 feet; 20- to 40-foot spread
Light: Full to part sun
Soil: Moist or dry
Bloom: Spring, gold/yellow racimes, fragrant
Fruit: June-September, bluish-black, on female trees
Foliage: Brilliant fall; multiple shapes
Landscape: Shade, specimen, screen (if allowed to colonize)
Resistance: Black Walnut, deer
More information and native range here
Read my blog on Sassafras here
Fun fact: Albidum means whitish, referencing the undersides of the leaves
Sassafras
Pollinator value: Very High. Larval host to dozens of butterfly and moth species including the Spicebush and Palamedes swallowtails, and the Imperial Moth.
Sassafras makes a nice shade tree, or it can be left to colonize as a shorter hedge. Female trees produce drupes that ripen in September and hang on red stalks. Also in fall, the leaves turn brilliant colors of orange and red.