Facts on Sassafras Leaves

Polymophic Leaves

• Polymorphic is the term botanists use to describe the leaves of trees such as sassafras. It means that on one tree, even on one branch, leaves of different shapes exist. The sassafras leaves come in three main types. One is broadly elliptical, with a tapered end. Sassafras leaves come in the shape of a child's mitten, with two main lobes, but one lobe much larger than the other is. Multi-lobed leaves featuring more than two separate lobes are the third possibility on sassafras trees. Most of the time there are just three lobes on such leaves, but as many as seven lobes are possible, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources' website.

Size and Color

• Sassafras leaves are not particularly large, measuring between 3 and 7 inches long and being as wide as 4 inches. The upper surface on the sassafras leaf is a shiny green color, but the underside of the leaf is considerably less glossy, being a pale green shade with an almost whitish appearance. The fall colors of sassafras leaves are a major asset to the tree as a landscaping tool. Often spectacular, the leaves change to purple, orange, yellow and red.

Other Characteristics

• The edges of a sassafras leaf lack any teeth or fine serrations commonly found on the foliage of other types of trees such as elm, birch or chestnut. When you take a sassafras leaf and crush it or rub it, you notice a spicy aroma emerges from the leaf. The leafstalk where the leaf attaches to the twig on a sassafras tree is long and thin, according to the "National Audubon Society Field Guide to Trees: Eastern Region."

Diseases, Pests and Deer

• Certain leaf diseases attack the foliage of the sassafras tree, notes the National Forest Service. One is Actinopelte dryina, a fungal ailment that affects sassafras in southern states, while Mycosphaerella sassafras causes leaf spot on these trees. The Japanese beetle is an insect pest frequently found on sassafras leaves, as is the gypsy moth caterpillar and the looper. Sassafras leaves are part of the diets of deer within the tree's distribution, as they feed on the foliage in both spring and summer before turning attention to sassafras twigs in the winter months.