Scratch And Sniff

By Laurie Casey
The Morton Arboretum

Sumac berry lemonade, anyone? How about sassafras tea? OK, then, how about a spoonful of yellow birch sap to help that medicine go down? It’s been said that you almost can’t make a pie without a tree product. So, while appreciating them for their gorgeous fall foliage at The Morton Arboretum or elsewhere, check out the many benefits and interesting uses of trees that turn fall color.

In addition to its catchy name, sassafras has an interesting history. In the 1600s it became a major export to Europe, second only to tobacco, because people believed sassafras tea could cure all sorts of ills, including malaria and syphilis. Settlers used sassafras wood to make fences, small boats and even beds, because the odor was supposed to chase away bed bugs. Sassafras perfumes soaps and was one of the original flavorings in root beer (though the government banned sassafras oil in 1960 because it caused cancer in lab rats).

Sassafras is gorgeous in the fall when its leaves turn yellow, orange and red. It’s fun to pick out its three types of leaves: one looks like a mitten, another like a two-thumbed mitten, and the third has no thumbs. “It’s a great scratch-and-sniff tree,” said Ed Hedborn, Manager of Plant Records and the Arboretum’s so-called Fall Color Scout. “When you scratch a twig, it smells like a fruit-flavored breakfast cereal.” Male and female flowers are on separate plants, so you’ll need both plants for blooming. This 30-60 foot tree likes sun or shade and slightly acidic soil.

When you scratch a yellow birch twig, it gives a wintergreen scent. This essence was added to medicines to make them taste better. Birch beer was a popular drink for a time, and birch bark was another root beer flavoring. Birch bark is waterproof, which helped Native Americans make good canoes and wigwams.

Birches turn a pretty, pure gold in the fall. Its silvery bark peels in elegant, thin sheets. “River birch is much more suited to our climate than the favored paper birch, which is difficult to grow here,” said Edith Makra, arborist and the Arboretum’s Community Trees Advocate. This tree can grow up to 60 feet tall, likes cool, moist soil and does well in full sun or part shade.

Staghorn sumac was also put to great uses by our ancestors. Native Americans added sumac to tobacco in their peace pipes. Colonists made a lemonade-like beverage out of the red berry fruits. High in vitamin C, it could ward off scurvy. And Appalachians used tannin from twigs and leaves to cure leather and used the bark to dye cloth.

Staghorn sumac is a fall color stunner. “It’s hit-the-breaks gorgeous,” Makra said. Common along roadsides, sumac screams gold, scarlet, purple and burgundy colors—sometimes all on one leaf. A large, fairly vigorous shrub that grows 15-25 feet high, staghorn sumac needs a lot of space. It likes full sun and tolerates dry soil and road salt.

To find out which trees are turning now, visit www.mortonarb.org, click on “Bloom ’n color” to see Ed’s Weekly Color Scout Report.

Glad You Asked

Q. I love staghorn sumac, but I don’t have the space. Is there an alternative?
A. Try Prairie Flame shining sumac. The shrub typically reaches no more than 7-feet, and is better behaved than its vigorous cousin.

Q. Why should I consider planting unusual trees?
A. Planting different kinds of trees, diversifying our urban forests, is healthier for them. That way one disease or pest like the emerald ash borer can’t wipe out a large portion of our landscapes. “We have such a large palette of trees, but people tend to use the same ones over and over,” said Arboretum Assistant Director of Collections, Kunso Kim.

At the Arboretum
Create a home landscape that balances beauty and sustainability at “Eco-friendly choices for the well-designed garden,” 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. November 5 and 12. $55 (discount for members). Registration open now, call (630) 719-2468.

Laurie Casey is a staff writer at The Morton Arboretum.