Companion species
Pick one plant and see what grows with it: the natives that share its ground in the wild, and the ones that pair with it in a yard because they want the same sun, soil and climate.
In the wild
Sassafras grows in old fields and edges, dry uplands and sandy barrens
These natives share that ground, so they will look right together and want the same care.
Bristly Locust (Rose Locust)Robinia hispida shares dry uplands, sandy barrens and old fields and edges
New Jersey TeaCeanothus americanus shares dry uplands, sandy barrens and old fields and edges
Allegheny ChinquapinCastanea pumila shares dry uplands and sandy barrens
American BeautyberryCallicarpa americana shares old fields and edges and sandy barrens
American HazelnutCorylus americana shares old fields and edges and dry uplands
American PersimmonDiospyros virginiana shares old fields and edges and sandy barrens
Black ChokeberryAronia melanocarpa shares dry uplands and sandy barrens
Black Gum (Tupelo)Nyssa sylvatica shares dry uplands and old fields and edges
In the yard
Under its canopy
Shrubs and small trees that take the shade a sassafras casts and like the same soil.
How the matches are made
Every species we grow is tagged with the natural communities it lives in: floodplain forests, swamps, stream banks, rich slopes, dry ridges, sandy barrens, rocky ground, old fields, the forest understory, the mountains and the coast. Wild neighbors are the species that share one or more of those tags, with the closest matches first. Yard pairings use the plant's own needs instead: overlapping hardiness zones and soil moisture, and for the shade pairings, a size difference of at least two classes and a smaller plant that tolerates part shade or shade.
Sharing a habitat tag does not mean two plants always grow side by side, and a tag says nothing about how far apart to plant them. Use the planting-site check for the spot itself, and the growth estimator for how much room each one will want in twenty years.