# @ahs_gardening on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DSDqUh6jrl6
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/55035530-ahs-gardening-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/80c8d1ed86.jpg
- **Posted:** 2025-12-09T21:07:21.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** American Horticultural Society | American Gardener Magazine (@ahs_gardening) — https://gondola.cc/ahs_gardening

## Caption

NATIVE PLANT OF THE WEEK⁠
Sassafras (Sassafras albidum, Zones 4–9)⁠
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If you’ve ever wanted a tree that delivers brilliant fall color, feeds wildlife, and smells like someone crossed root beer with citrus, let me introduce you to sassafras.⁠
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Native to eastern North America—from southern Maine and Ontario out toward Iowa, then all the way down to central Florida and eastern Texas—sassafras is one of those trees that quietly does everything well.⁠
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Why Grow It⁠
• The leaves alone are worth planting it. Some look like mittens (the iconic two-lobed version), some have three lobes, and some are just simple ovals. It’s a botanical identity parade on a single tree.⁠
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• Fall color is showy in the best possible way: bright orange, red, purple, or yellow.⁠
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• Trees are either male or female. Female trees deliver clusters of small yellow spring flowers followed by dark blue fruits that birds adore.⁠
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• And the scent. Depending on which part you sniff, you might catch notes of cinnamon, citrus, or old-fashioned root beer. Garden aromatherapy.⁠
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Growing Basics⁠
Height: 30–60 feet.⁠
Soil: Loamy or sandy with excellent drainage. (Soggy soil is a deal-breaker.)⁠
Light: Full sun or partial shade.⁠
Tip: Remove suckers if you prefer a single-trunked tree.⁠
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Did You Know...⁠
Sassafras has deep Indigenous roots, with culinary and medicinal uses going back centuries. The root bark flavored tea. The leaves thickened gumbo (filé). And yes, the oil from the root was the original source of root beer flavor.⁠
Modern note: sassafras contains safrole, a carcinogenic compound, so best to admire the fragrance—not ingest it.⁠
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If you want to dive deeper, read “Fragrant, Flamboyant Sassafras” in our September/October 2013 issue at ahsgardening.org.⁠
Not a member yet? Join us at connect.ahsgardening.org/join. We’d love to have you.⁠
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Photos (all iNaturalist):⁠
Riona Brennan⁠
Mgteague⁠
Sandy Wolkenberg⁠
Hamhed⁠
Paul Marcum⁠
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#sassafras #nativeplants #ahsgardening #nativetrees #sustainablegardening #gardentips #americangardener #gardening #treegarden #arboretum #americanhorticulturalsociety⁠
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## Tags

nativeplants, americangardener, treegarden, gardentips, gardening, ahsgardening, nativetrees, sustainablegardening, arboretum, sassafras, americanhorticulturalsociety

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