I seem to be searching a dry hole as far as googling this question goes.

The short is: does sassafraas make seeds or does it (as I suspect) only spread by rhizome.

Enquiring minds want to know. No, really ;)

IDK bit i pull it out all over the yard! I highly suspect rhizomes.

If I recall correctly, sassafras does make seeds but only on female plants. It seems that its primary means of spreading is through the underground structures.

dave said:If I recall correctly, sassafras does make seeds but only on female plants. It seems that its primary means of spreading is through the underground structures.

I've found very few seedlings here, but there are some.

FW Schumacher offers seed. So my first guess was wrong. (That this was a by rhizome only). They do mention viability problems for seed, which only makes sense as this is a bottom-land tree.

So, no matter if you collect or buy seed, mix it in with some dampened peat or perlite and refrigerate damp seed till fall plant out.

The USDA Forest Service has a page about sassafras that includes seed stratification requirements and says vegetative propagation is better by root cuttings than stem cuttings.

http://www.na.fs.fed.us/pubs/s...

I don't see any mention of rhizomes in the above, or in a couple of tree books I checked, seems vegetative spread is by root sprouts.

Sassafras drupes + mockingbird eating drupes....

You gotta look fast... once the birds start on them... they don't last long...

There's a seed in each drupe + sassafras colonize like sumac or american persimmon.

I've transplanted the small sassafras trees, but it's difficult...