sassafras (Sassafras albidum)
(c) Tom Potterfield, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA) · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab) · iNaturalist (opens in a new tab)
Flowering plantsIn Ohio

Sassafras

Sassafras albidum (Nutt.) Nees

Kingdom
Plantae
Phylum
Tracheophyta
Family
Lauraceae
Genus
Sassafras
We remember your county on this device only, until you clear it. Your ZIP code, city or location never leaves your device.

Range

Where it is recorded

Season shown in 1 of Ohio's 88 counties. Explore Ohio

  • No result yet (21)
  • Recorded, too few records for a result (47)
  • Recorded, season not shown (19)
  • Season shown (1)
Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Cartographic Boundary Files, 1:500,000. Show as a table
Counties as a table
sassafras by Ohio county: records and mapped range
CountyRecords
Adams County21 · Recorded, season not shown
Allen CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Ashland CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Ashtabula County20 · Recorded, season not shown
Athens County353 · Season shown
Auglaize CountyNo qualifying records yet
Belmont CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Brown CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Butler CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Carroll CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Champaign CountyNo qualifying records yet
Clark CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Clermont County95 · Recorded, season not shown
Clinton CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Columbiana CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Coshocton CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Crawford CountyNo qualifying records yet
Cuyahoga County162 · Recorded, season not shown
Darke CountyNo qualifying records yet
Defiance CountyNo qualifying records yet
Delaware CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Erie CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Fairfield CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Fayette CountyNo qualifying records yet
Franklin County38 · Recorded, season not shown
Fulton CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Gallia CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Geauga CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Greene CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Guernsey CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Hamilton County122 · Recorded, season not shown
Hancock CountyNo qualifying records yet
Hardin CountyNo qualifying records yet
Harrison CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Henry CountyNo qualifying records yet
Highland CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Hocking County39 · Recorded, season not shown
Holmes CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Huron CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Jackson CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Jefferson CountyNo qualifying records yet
Knox CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Lake County51 · Recorded, season not shown
Lawrence CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Licking CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Logan CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Lorain County29 · Recorded, season not shown
Lucas County77 · Recorded, season not shown
Madison CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Mahoning CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Marion CountyNo qualifying records yet
Medina CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Meigs CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Mercer CountyNo qualifying records yet
Miami CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Monroe CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Montgomery County25 · Recorded, season not shown
Morgan CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Morrow CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Muskingum CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Noble CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Ottawa CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Paulding CountyNo qualifying records yet
Perry CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Pickaway CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Pike CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Portage County58 · Recorded, season not shown
Preble CountyNo qualifying records yet
Putnam CountyNo qualifying records yet
Richland County20 · Recorded, season not shown
Ross CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Sandusky CountyNo qualifying records yet
Scioto CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Seneca CountyNo qualifying records yet
Shelby CountyNo qualifying records yet
Stark County29 · Recorded, season not shown
Summit County218 · Recorded, season not shown
Trumbull CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Tuscarawas County20 · Recorded, season not shown
Union CountyNo qualifying records yet
Van Wert CountyNo qualifying records yet
Vinton CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Warren County38 · Recorded, season not shown
Washington CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Wayne County48 · Recorded, season not shown
Williams CountyNo qualifying records yet
Wood County41 · Recorded, season not shown
Wyandot CountyRecorded, too few records for a result

No mapped range from the range source used, the USGS Gap Analysis Project, which maps land vertebrates only.

Season

When it is recorded

In Ohio

Mid-April to early November, middle week Aug 9–15

Show over the bars
Recording in Ohio · records of all species each week, 1,691,199 in all

Records per week from 2,392 records in 10 of the 10 years from 2016 to 2025. Shows when people recorded it, not how common it is. The grey bars show how many records of all species were made here each week, so you can see when recording itself was high or low; the season is not adjusted by them.

Recorded on 1,151 dates. Latest record: November 2025.

Show as a table
Records of sassafras in Ohio each week, and records of all species
WeekRecords of sassafrasYears recordedRecords of all species
Jan 4–10636,211
Jan 11–17325,146
Jan 18–24114,645
Jan 25–31214,698
Feb 1–7336,023
Feb 8–14335,888
Feb 15–21325,436
Feb 22–28846,846
Mar 1–7538,321
Mar 8–146410,384
Mar 15–214312,620
Mar 22–286413,949
Mar 29 – Apr 44319,661
Apr 5–1119326,860
Apr 12–1818739,925
Apr 19–2534541,623
Apr 26 – May 264956,391
May 3–947952,952
May 10–16631053,785
May 17–2391857,698
May 24–3095854,651
May 31 – Jun 6101953,099
Jun 7–13671053,700
Jun 14–2083956,625
Jun 21–27631055,361
Jun 28 – Jul 469858,477
Jul 5–11601061,336
Jul 12–1864964,722
Jul 19–2565969,753
Jul 26 – Aug 1491059,416
Aug 2–852959,712
Aug 9–1553955,994
Aug 16–2251954,328
Aug 23–2942851,772
Aug 30 – Sep 5126957,167
Sep 6–12591059,075
Sep 13–191161054,543
Sep 20–261191045,860
Sep 27 – Oct 31041043,180
Oct 4–101151037,841
Oct 11–17114830,824
Oct 18–24811021,156
Oct 25–3187919,021
Nov 1–756814,172
Nov 8–1442812,621
Nov 15–211677,965
Nov 22–281758,136
Nov 29 – Dec 51666,083
Dec 6–121136,004
Dec 13–19335,423
Dec 20–26115,661
Dec 27 – Jan 2538,459

Reported in flower

Usually reported in flower mid-April to early May, middle week Apr 26 – May 2.

From 23 records that show flowers. Not every photo of a plant in flower is marked as flowering, so this shows when people reported it in flower, not when it flowers.

Reported in fruit

Only 10 records here show fruit, too few to show a fruiting season. One needs at least 20 records from 5 different years.

What these results show

These results show when people recorded a species, not when or where it occurs. Missing weeks and low counts do not mean absence or scarcity, and counts are not abundance. Contributed records reflect where, when and what people chose to observe.

Identification

How to identify it

Telling it apart

From what Ohio’s records show. Only what the records support is shown.

Often confused with

  • American tuliptree Liriodendron tulipiferaOften confused in Ohio: 14 identifications in Ohio named one where the other was meant
  • northern spicebush Lindera benzoinOften confused in Ohio: 14 identifications in Ohio named one where the other was meant
  • giant ragweed Ambrosia trifida76 identifications worldwide named one where the other was meant
  • Black Tupelo Nyssa sylvatica56 identifications worldwide named one where the other was meant
  • Cornelian cherry Cornus mas34 identifications worldwide named one where the other was meant

From iNaturalist’s similar-species counts, refreshed monthly: confusions in Ohio first, then worldwide. Only species with an Ohio result are listed.

Land cover where it is recorded

Land coverIts recordsAll Ohio records
Forest53%31%
Developed35%49%
Farmland8%11%
Wetland2%5%
Open water1%3%
Grassland and shrub1%0.9%
Barren0.1%0.6%

From 1,460 records placed within 100 m, beside all Ohio records placed the same way. People record where they go, so this shows where records come from, not where the species lives. Land cover: USGS Annual NLCD, 2025 (opens in a new tab)

Sources

Where these results come from

  • Records from iNaturalist research-grade observations and expert-identified GBIF datasets, CC0, CC BY and CC BY-NC. Sources
  • Seasons use the published method and its evidence thresholds. Methods
  • See it on iNaturalist (opens in a new tab)OpenPhenology is independent and not affiliated with iNaturalist.

Records behind the Ohio result

2,392 records from 2 datasets.

To cite: the GBIF download doi:10.15468/dl.y2jkt8 (opens in a new tab).

A spreadsheet (CSV) with a link to each record, on iNaturalist or GBIF. Records whose location was hidden by the observer or the source are counted but not linked.