Sassafras albidum, 2, Sassafras staminate flowers

Sassafrass....the trees are dioecious ... males and females on separate trees. While they do have plenty of flowers they are rarely visited by bees. Perhaps it is more of fly pollination system. Specimens and pictures by Helen Lowe Metzman from Howard County, Maryland. Photography Information: Canon Mark II 5D, Zerene Stacker, Stackshot Sled, 65mm Canon MP-E 1-5X macro lens, Twin Macro Flash in Styrofoam Cooler, F5.0, ISO 100, Shutter Speed 200 USGSBIML Photoshopping Technique: Note that we now have added using the burn tool at 50% opacity set to shadows to clean up the halos that bleed into the black background from "hot" color sections of the picture.