The FLOWERS are clustered, greenish-yellow, and open with the first unfolding of the leaves. The male and female flowers are usually on different trees. The FRUIT is an oblong, dark blue or black lustrous drupe surrounded at the base by what appears to be a small orange-red or scarlet cup at the end of the scarlet peduncle. The WOOD is light, soft, weak, brittle, and durable in the soil; the heartwood is dull orange-brown. It is used for posts and crossties. The bark of the roots yields the very aromatic oil of sassafras much used for flavoring candies and various commercial products. The bark of the root is sold in small bundles for making sassafras tea. WITCH-HAZEL Hamamelis virginiana L. This tall-growing shrub which has the peculiar habit of blooming in the late fall and ripening its fruit in early spring is native to the extreme eastern portion of Texas, being found on rich soils of streams or along the borders of the forest. The BARK is smooth, white, gray, and mottled with light brown. The LEAVES are usually obovate, 3 to 5 inches long, prominently veined, with a wavy margin, very irregular at the base, bright green above and slightly paler below. They are generally smooth. The odd, yellow FLOWERS are borne in clusters along the branch, with long, very narrow twisted petals. They develop during November, December, and January, the time depending somewhat on the weather, and possess a refreshing fragrance. The FRUIT is a hard, tough, two-celled capsule, with two beaks. It divides in half, each half containing a shiny black seed. In the late summer or early autumn the capsules pop open, discharging the seeds. [Illustration: WITCH-HAZEL (Leaf, one-half natural size; flower and fruit, natural size)] The WOOD is hard and close-grained. The trees do not grow large enough to be of commercial value. An analgesic extract used in lotions and balms is obtained from the inner bark by distillation. SWEETGUM (Redgum) Liquidambar styraciflua L. Sweetgum is a valuable and sometimes troublesome forest tree in East Texas. It occurs on rich river bottoms and in swamps subject to frequent overflow, as well as on the dried uplands, as far west as the San Jacinto River Basin. The BARK is a light gray, roughened by corky scales, later becoming deeply furrowed. After the second year the twigs often develop corky projections of bark, which give them a winged appearance. The simple, alternate star-shaped LEAF with its 5 to 7 points or lobes, is 5 to 7 inches across and aromatic. In the fall its coloring ranges from pale yellow through orange and red to a deep bronze. [Illustration: SWEETGUM (Leaf and fruit, one-third natural size; twig, two-thirds natural size)]