Two trees with red leaves in the fall

Autumn's earliest reds in these two Kentucky natives

In the earliest days of autumn, red leaves appear within the tangled, brushy fencerows of rural Kentucky roads. These bright spots of fall color are often provided by two native trees -- sumac, in its several species, and sassafras. I enjoy seeing them progress into an overall state of crimson as the season continues.

Sassafras (Sassafras albidium) can grow to be a large understory tree (up to 50 feet tall) in the woods. The larger sumacs, such as flameleaf (Rhus copallinum) and staghorn (Rhus typhina), can reach 35 feet of height in ideal conditions, such as at the sunny edge of a grove of trees. However, in the fencerows along roads, these trees don't often attain such heights.

Along the county and state roads, the road departments use regular mowing, brush cutters, and herbicides to discourage woody growth. Our regional electric company uses a horrible, aerial "bush hog" under power lines. It chops and breaks every growing thing to a 10-foot height. Farmers repair their fences and clear the trees and bushes from the fencerows from time to time.

These sorts of setbacks don't kill out the sumac and sassafras. Both these trees have extensive root systems that will shoot up new trees. Individual stems may perish, but sassafras and sumac colonies will persist as long as their root systems survive to send up root suckers. That explains the widespread occurrence of these two trees in the fencerows.

In addition, both trees produce fruit that is eaten by birds. When birds rest and roost on the fences and in the bushy growth of the fencerow, seed-laden droppings fall to the ground. This is one of nature's methods of  planting new trees.

Sumac provides one of nature's most reliable autumn reds. The fall colors of sassafras include bright yellow, orange, red, and purple.

Native trees for dry, steep sites

Native trees that will grow on dry hillsides

These native trees will tolerate sites with excessive drainage -- hillsides, banks, or slopes, and extremely coarse soils. They will also tolerate droughty conditions, though most of them would like to have a little water sometimes. The common name of each tree is linked to its page in the USDA Plants Database.

Betula populifolia -- Gray birch (tolerates wet to dry conditions)
Carya tomentosa -- Mockernut hickory (prefers some moisture, tolerates dry)
Cotinus americanus -- American smoketree (prefers moist, tolerates dry)
Crataegus crusgali -- Cockspur hawthorn (prefers moist, tolerates dry)
Crataegus mollis -- Downy hawthorn (prefers moist, tolerates dry)
Crataegus nitida -- Glossy hawthorn (prefers moist, tolerates dry)
Crataegus phaenopyrum -- Washington hawthorn (prefers moist, tolerates dry)
Crataegus punctata -- Frosted (or dotted) hawthorn (prefers moist, tolerates dry)
Fraxinus quadrangulata -- Blue ash (tolerates wet to dry conditions)
Juniperus virginiana -- Eastern redcedar (tolerates wet to dry conditions)
Liridendron tulipifera -- Tuliptree or yellow poplar (prefers some moisture, tolerates dry)
Maclura pomifera -- Osage orange or hedgeapple (prefers moist, tolerates dry)
Pinus banksiana -- Jack pine (prefers some moisture, tolerates dry)
Pinus ponderosa -- Ponderosa pine (average to dry conditions)
Pinus rigida -- Pitch pine (average to dry conditions)
Populus deltoides -- Cottonwood or eastern poplar (tolerates wet to dry)
Prunus americana -- American wild plum (prefers some moisture, tolerates dry)
Prunus pennsylvanica -- Pin cherry (tolerates wet to dry)
Quercus marilandica -- Blackjack oak (dry)
Quercus muhlenbergi -- Chinkapin oak (dry)
Quercus velutina -- Black oak (prefers some moisture, tolerates dry)
Rhus species -- Various sumacs (prefer some moisture, tolerate dry)
Robinia pseudoacacia -- Black locust (prefers some moisture, tolerates dry)
Sassafras albidum -- Sassafras (tolerates wet to dry)

Sassafras: The root beer tree

Sasafras albidum

Sassafras (Sassafras albidum) is one of the easier trees to identify by its leaves. Sassafras leaves can have a mitten shape, with either a left thumb or a right thumb, or the sassafras leaf can be three-lobed, as shown in the photo at right. It can also have an oval, unlobed leaf. Usually, you'll see all three shapes on the same tree.

The sassafras tree is a member of the laurel family so it has aromatic foliage. Rub a leaf between your fingers, and its scent may be obvious. The intensity of the aroma seems to vary from one colony to another. You can also experience the unique aroma of sassafras by crushing a little twig.

Sassafras tea was widely used in the past for its various medicinal effects. Sassafras root and bark was an important export in colonial times. However, natural sassafras tea has been banned from commercial sale in the US since the 1970s, because of concern that safrole, a compound in natural sassafras products, may cause cancer.

In earlier times, homemade root beer was made by fermenting molassess (sometimes mixed with honey) and sassafras root. Commercial root beer used oil of sassafras and safrole for flavoring. Artificial flavoring or safrole-free sassafras extract is now used commercially, and is available for sassafras candy and other sassafras recipes.

Sassafras trees are native to most of the eastern United States. The trees are typically 35 to 50 feet in height at maturity. Individual sassafras trees in the South, may be taller than this average. The spread is usually about 2/3 the height.

A champion sassafras tree is located at Owensboro, KY. It is 76 feet in height. In 1982, its spread was 69 feet and a trunk circumference of 253 inches (over 11 feet) at 4-1/2 feet from the ground. According to the National Register of Big Trees, the Owensboro tree is still the champion sassafras tree for the United States.

Sassafras albidum suckers from its roots, so the tree is often seen in colonies. In our neighbor's pasture, it grows in a colony along the fence row on a hillside, with black locust trees which also sucker from their roots. It's interesting that an article about sassafras trees in the Appalachians mentions them growing with locust trees there, also.

Interested in planting a sassafras tree? It will do well in a sunny, well-drained site, but will not tolerate shady, soggy conditions. If you're digging up a sassafras tree in the wild, look for a very young tree and use ball and burlap techniques to transplant it in early spring.

In spring, your sassafras will have small yellow flowers, and in autumn, small, red-stemmed, dark blue berries, which are enjoyed by birds. The autumn colors of its foliage will vary; leaves may turn yellow, red, orange or purple.

There are potential problems with a backyard sassafras tree. Sassafras is vulnerable to damage from wind or ice because its wood is brittle. It will form a colony from its root suckers, unless you keep them mowed off. The suckers may be a problem for nearby neighbors, as well as for you!



Image credits:
Leaves picture: Wikipedia, under the GNU Free Documentation License
Tree growing on rocks picture: National Park Service, by J. M. Reuter
Young sassafras tree: Copyright © 2007 Genevieve Netz. All rights reserved.