Sassafras - The Mitten-leaf LbNA #25823 (ARCHIVED)
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Add Location| Owner: | Cock o' the Trail  |
|---|---|
| Plant date: | Sep 24, 2006 |
| Location: | |
| City: | Watkins Glen |
| County: | Schuyler |
| State: | New York |
| Boxes: | 1 |
| Found by: | Hyperman |
|---|---|
| Last found: | Jun 17, 2007 |
| Status: | aFFF |
| Last edited: | Sep 24, 2006 |
Oh, you must surely have found the Sassafras Pond letterbox already. If not, you need to consult the clues for that one in order to find your way to the pond. Then you're ready to continue the search for the namesake tree. Doesn't seem they'd name this pleasant little body of water "Sassafras" just because someone liked the sound of it. (Well, stranger things have happened around here, when it comes to naming places!)
So, you've no idea what a sassafras tree looks like; all the more reason for pursuing the hunt. You may have walked past one or more already without realizing it. Why don't we just continue to circum-navigate the pond; feet can't get any wetter. You probably noticed that the north shore came to a point, and that might be a good place to go to have a look around. Step across a little stream - there, almost made it! - and march on boldly toward the point. See that wood-duck nest . . . notice how they've sheathed the tree to keep predatory climbers away from the nest. Clever, that . . . Dodge around that bushy white pine and come to the shore right at the point. A rather sickly, multi-stemmed red maple lives there, already shorn of most of its leaves.
Look across the pond . . . oh, now you see them, don't you . . . at 195 degrees - the tallest of the group maybe 40 ft. Walked right past them, did we ?! Well, it's probably not too late to hurry back around and have a closer look.
"Mitten-leaf, the man says; that ought to be easy to pick out. Hah! You're going to hate me for this, but in these particular specimens of the species, Sassafras albidum, very few of the leaves are two- or three-lobed. You have to search carefully for an example. But rest assured, when you've spotted one, that's a sassafras for sure. I've seen low thickets of shrub-like sassafras elsewhere in which MOST of the leaves are multi-lobed and mitten- (or glove-) like. Really! (Well, here are a couple of additional hints, if you're not sure on closer inspection. The leaves are sort of bundled - not compound, but originating from the green twigs close together, and the twigs, when crushed, are aromatic. The autumnal leaf color is a warm orange-red, and the bark of the mature tree is light brown and quite rough.)
Ah, you'll never forget this very special tree! . . . or this wonderful little pond, tucked off here in the woods.
So, you've no idea what a sassafras tree looks like; all the more reason for pursuing the hunt. You may have walked past one or more already without realizing it. Why don't we just continue to circum-navigate the pond; feet can't get any wetter. You probably noticed that the north shore came to a point, and that might be a good place to go to have a look around. Step across a little stream - there, almost made it! - and march on boldly toward the point. See that wood-duck nest . . . notice how they've sheathed the tree to keep predatory climbers away from the nest. Clever, that . . . Dodge around that bushy white pine and come to the shore right at the point. A rather sickly, multi-stemmed red maple lives there, already shorn of most of its leaves.
Look across the pond . . . oh, now you see them, don't you . . . at 195 degrees - the tallest of the group maybe 40 ft. Walked right past them, did we ?! Well, it's probably not too late to hurry back around and have a closer look.
"Mitten-leaf, the man says; that ought to be easy to pick out. Hah! You're going to hate me for this, but in these particular specimens of the species, Sassafras albidum, very few of the leaves are two- or three-lobed. You have to search carefully for an example. But rest assured, when you've spotted one, that's a sassafras for sure. I've seen low thickets of shrub-like sassafras elsewhere in which MOST of the leaves are multi-lobed and mitten- (or glove-) like. Really! (Well, here are a couple of additional hints, if you're not sure on closer inspection. The leaves are sort of bundled - not compound, but originating from the green twigs close together, and the twigs, when crushed, are aromatic. The autumnal leaf color is a warm orange-red, and the bark of the mature tree is light brown and quite rough.)
Ah, you'll never forget this very special tree! . . . or this wonderful little pond, tucked off here in the woods.