Sassafras albidum

 

Look familiar? Sassafras is the plant that is used in our logo! 

You might have noticed that sassafras leaves can be unilobed, bilobed, or trilobed. Bilobed leaves resemble the shape of Michigan, hence its use in our logo. 

Sassafras’ native distribution range is pictured on the side bar. It can mostly be found in deciduous forests, growing quite rapidly, with new root sprouts gaining as much as 4 meters per year in the first 4 years. Sassafras root sprouts are also known to generate sizable clonal colonies!

Sassafras is affected by laurel wilt, a fungal (Raffaellea lauricola) infection transmitted by the redbay ambrosia beetle (Xyleborus glabratus). Read more about it here. 

This tree has some controversy associated with it- the safrole oil that can be produced from its root bark is considered a potential carcinogen by the FDA and is banned for use in mass-produced food and drugs. It is, however, still used by hobbyists to make traditional root beer! See here.