Sassafras
in F. Berchtold & J. S. Presl., Prir. Rostlin 2: 30, 67. 1825.
Taxon | Illustrator ⠉ | |
---|---|---|
Cinnamomum camphora Umbellularia californica var. californica Sassafras albidum | John Myers John Myers John Myers |
Trees, deciduous. Bark redbrown, aromatic, thick, furrowed on old trunks. Leaves alternate, aromatic. Leaf-blade pinnately veined, lobed or unlobed, basal veins more strongly developed than distal ones, papery; surfaces abaxially glaucous, glabrous or slightly pubescent; domatia absent. Inflorescences appearing before or with young leaves, situated in axils of bracts surrounding terminal buds, racemes or racemose-panicles, flowers subtended by 1 linear bract. Flowers unisexual, staminate and pistillate on different plants; tepals deciduous, yellowish, equal, pubescent. Staminate flowers: stamens 9, anthers 4-locular, 4-valved, introrse. Pistillate flowers: staminodes absent or present; ovary ovoid. Drupe blue, ovoid, seated in shallow, single-rimmed cupule.
Distribution
North America, Asia
Discussion
Species 2 or 3 (1 in the flora).
Selected References
None.