Sassafras

Sassafras albidum

broadleaf · the trees that make the view

All of these have an intense kaleidoscope of color, including yellows, oranges, reds, and sometimes purples.

The dates here are for High Appalachians. Choose a country below to open it beside the whole forest.

Its colors

red, orange, yellow, purple

Aug 31

Sep 7

Sep 14

Sep 21

Sep 28

Oct 5

Oct 12

Oct 19

Oct 26

Nov 2

Nov 9

Nov 16

When it turns here

first color about Sep 12, 2026, at its best Oct 2, 2026, fading by Oct 9, 2026, bare by Oct 18, 2026 (estimate).

this year, by the model, the forest here peaks about Oct 25, 2026; the reports were read, their words not yet understood (6 reports).

Model of Oct 27, 2026; reports of Oct 26, 2026.

How long it holds

the sources give no figure for how long it holds its color.

Where it grows thickest

Sassafras is included in only two forest cover types; however, scattered trees of the species are found in many eastern forest types (13).

old fields, fence rows, dry ridges

its range outline comes to this page

Its pictures this autumn

no picture of it this autumn yet

Where to see it

pictures of it this autumn from …

Letchworth, Canandaigua & the Genesee Valley, NY · 1 picture, newest Oct 4, 2026
The Pocono Mountains, PA · 1 picture, newest Oct 4, 2026

Sassafras in its color, the other trees in gray: one small forest for each country, one column a week. Heights carry four share grades, from a tree in its own places to most of the forest.

Sassafras

Its colors

When it turns here

How long it holds

Where it grows thickest

Its pictures this autumn

Where to see it

High Appalachians

Maple country

Lakes

Oak and hickory country

Ozarks and the mid-South

Deep South and the coastal plain