Red-barked sassafras facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Red-barked sassafras |
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|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Cinnamomum
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| Species: |
virens
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Cinnamomum virens is a type of tree that grows in the rainforests along the eastern coast of Australia. People call it by many names, like red-barked sassafras, black sassafras, camphorwood, scentless cinnamon wood, and native camphor laurel. This tree can be found in areas from the Williams River (New South Wales) up to the Main Range National Park in Queensland. It likes to grow in rich volcanic soil, but it can also live in poorer, sandy soils. You often find it growing near another tree called coachwood.
What Does Cinnamomum virens Look Like?
Cinnamomum virens is a medium-sized tree that can grow up to 30 meters (about 98 feet) tall. Its trunk can be as wide as 60 centimeters (about 2 feet).
Trunk and Bark
The tree's top part, called the crown, is usually small and doesn't spread out much. The trunk is straight and round, sometimes a bit wider at the bottom on older trees. The bark is reddish-brown and mostly smooth. However, it can have small, square-shaped pieces of bark and bumpy parts that are about 1 centimeter (less than half an inch) in size. The smaller branches on this tree are typically green and smooth.
Leaves
The leaves of Cinnamomum virens are simple, meaning each leaf is a single blade. They grow in pairs directly opposite each other on the stem. The leaves are oval-shaped with a rounded tip. They are usually 5 to 12 centimeters (about 2 to 5 inches) long and 2 to 3 centimeters (about 1 inch) wide. The top side of the leaf is smooth and shiny green, while the bottom side is a duller green. A special feature of these leaves is that the first two main veins branch off and go about halfway up the leaf before reaching the edge.
Flowers and Fruit
The flowers of Cinnamomum virens grow in clusters called panicles. They appear between February and July. After the flowers, the tree produces fruit. The fruit is a black, fleshy drupe, which is a type of fruit with a hard pit inside, like a cherry. It's oval-shaped, about 10 to 12 millimeters (less than half an inch) long and 6 to 8 millimeters (about a quarter of an inch) wide. The bottom of the fruit sits in a cup-like structure made of six parts, called a calyx. Inside the fruit is a single seed, which is about 8 millimeters long and 5 millimeters wide. These seeds ripen from August to December. It's best to plant the seeds when they are fresh because they dry out quickly.
