Yes, but the sassafras tree value has little to do with lumber. The worth you get sits in three other places. You get strong ornamental value from the fall color. You get real wildlife value for birds and butterflies. And you tap into a history that runs back to the first European settlers.
Most people picture a valuable tree as a tall trunk a sawmill wants. Sassafras is not that tree. It stays small to medium. The wood is light and soft. So you should judge its value the way the people who plant it do, by what it brings to your yard and the life around it.
The fall show is the main draw, and it drives the sassafras ornamental value you came for. The leaves turn deep orange and red, and you will often see both shades on one branch. The tree even grows three leaf shapes at once. You get simple ovals next to mitten and three-lobed leaves. That oddity makes it easy to spot and fun to grow in your own garden.
The form adds to the look too. Older trees take on a twisting, layered shape. It stands out in winter once your leaves drop. The bark turns a rich red-brown with deep grooves you can run a finger down. You get a tree that earns its spot in all four seasons, not just one week in October.
The sassafras wildlife value is just as strong. The tree is the main host plant for the spicebush swallowtail butterfly. That butterfly lays its eggs on the leaves so the caterpillars have food right where they hatch. If you want more butterflies in your yard, this is one of the best native trees you can plant.
The bird list is long. The small blue-black fruits ripen in late summer and fall, and you will see them vanish fast. Wild turkey, bobwhite quail, and many songbirds eat the fruit. The dense thickets give them cover to nest and hide from hawks. So a single tree can feed and shelter a surprising amount of life on a small lot.
The root and bark carry the spicy smell that once flavored root beer and tea. That is the famous part of the tree. But the wood itself is too soft and too small for most building work. You should not plant sassafras for lumber, and you should not expect a payday from cutting one down.
The history is where the value numbers get big. By the 1600s, the colonies shipped huge amounts of sassafras to Europe. Those exports ranked second in value only to tobacco, according to Georgia DNR. Buyers thought the root could cure all sorts of ills. So ships hauled it across the ocean by the ton for decades, and whole trips set out just to gather it.
That respect carries through to today. The Georgia Native Plant Society named sassafras its Plant of the Year in 2013. That is a nod to a native tree that earns its keep without much fuss. You are not growing a relic. You are growing a plant that still pulls its weight in a modern yard.
For your own landscape, weigh all that value against one real habit. Sassafras spreads by root suckers and forms a colony over time. It sends up new shoots several feet from the trunk. Plan for it. Give the tree room at a yard edge or a wild corner where a thicket helps you. Mow the suckers down each spring if you want a single clean trunk instead.
Do that, and the math works in your favor. The real sassafras tree value shows up as a tough native with great color and strong wildlife pull for very little money. Few trees give you that much fall color, butterfly support, and history in one easy, low-cost package.
Read the full article: Sassafras Tree: Leaves, Uses and Safety
