''Doryphora sassafras'', commonly known as sassafras, yellow-, canary- or golden sassafras, or golden deal, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, whic ...

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

of the family Atherospermataceae native to the subtropical and

temperate rainforest Temperate rainforests are coniferous or broadleaf forests that occur in the temperate zone and receive heavy rain. Temperate rain forests occur in oceanic moist regions around the world: the Pacific temperate rain forests of North American ...

s of eastern

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

and

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

, Australia. It is a tall tree with green foliage and contrasting white flowers which occur in Autumn and Winter.

Taxonomy

''Doryphora sassafras'' was first described by Austrian naturalist Stephan Endlicher in 1837. Its generic name is derived from the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...

''dory-'' "spear" and ''pherein'' "to carry", and refers to the anthers in the flower, while its specific epithet is taken from its similar odour to the North American Laurel (''

Sassafras albidum ''Sassafras albidum'' (sassafras, white sassafras, red sassafras, or silky sassafras) is a species of ''Sassafras'' native to eastern North America, from southern Maine and southern Ontario west to Iowa, and south to central Florida and eastern T ...

''). It is a member of the small family Atherospermataceae along with several other Australian rainforest trees including southern sassafras (''

Atherosperma moschatum ''Atherosperma moschatum'', the southern sassafras or blackheart sassafras, is an evergreen tree native to the cool temperate rainforests of Tasmania, Victoria, and New South Wales in Australia. It is common in the rainforests of Tasmania and Vic ...

''). Common names include Canary Sassafras, Yellow Sassafras, Golden Sassafras, Golden Deal or simply Sassafras.

Description

''Doryphora sassafras'' can grow to a height of 25–35 m (80–110 ft). Floyd, Alexander G. 1990: ''Australian Rainforests in New South Wales, Volume 1''. Surrey Beatty & Sons Pty Ltd, Chipping Norton, NSW. It is a straight-trunked tree generally with a small crown, its grey-brown trunk reaching a diameter of 1.2 m (4 ft). Oppositely arranged on the stem, the green leaves are elliptic to

lanceolate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular ...

ovate Ovate may refer to: * Ovate (egg-shaped) leaves, tepals, or other botanical parts *Ovate, a type of prehistoric stone hand axe *Ovates, one of three ranks of membership in the Welsh Gorsedd *Vates In modern English, the nouns vates () and ova ...

, usually 7–10 cm (3–4 in) long, 2–4 cm wide, margins are shallowly to deeply toothed, glabrous and glossy, with a pleasant 'sassafras' scent when crushed. They have a prominent midrib and veins on the paler underside. Perhaps their most noteworthy feature is their lifespan; up to twelve years for each leaf. The small white flowers occur in groups of three on short axillary stalks from May to July, and are followed by dark brown hairy fruit which are ripe from February to August. The flowering display can be showy with flowers massed on branches. contrasting against the darker foliage.

Distribution and habitat

The distribution is from

Nambour Nambour is a rural town and locality in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Nambour had a population of 11,187 people. Geography Nambour is north of the state capital, Brisbane. The town lies in the sub ...

in southern Queensland through eastern New South Wales to Wolumla Peak in Yurammie State Forest. It is found in temperate rainforest on basalt soils at higher elevations and sedimentary soils at lower elevations, commonly associated with Coachwood (''

Ceratopetalum apetalum ''Ceratopetalum apetalum'', the coachwood, scented satinwood or tarwood, is a medium-sized hardwood tree, straight-growing with smooth, fragrant, greyish bark. It is native to eastern Australia in the central and northern coastal rainforests ...

'') and native crabapple (''

Schizomeria ovata ''Schizomeria ovata'', a medium to large Australian rainforest tree, is widespread in warm-temperate rainforest in coastal New South Wales north from Narooma (36° S) and southern Queensland south from Fraser Island (25° S). It is also found ...

'').

Cultivation and uses

The yellowish soft timber is used in floors, turnery, and cabinet work. It is used in reforestation but generally grows too big to be used in home gardens. It has been thought to have potential as a potted specimen. It has been planted in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

area in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Gallery

Image:Doryphora sassafras flowers St Ives 2.jpg, Sassafras flowers and leaves, St Ives North, Australia Image:Doryphora sassafras, leaf detail.jpg, leaf

References

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q4166636 Atherospermataceae Laurales of Australia Trees of Australia Flora of New South Wales