Carolina Nature

Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina

Kentucky Coffeetree (Gymnocladus dioicus)

Plantae>Magnoliophyta>Magnoliopsida>Fabales>Fabaceae>Gymnocladus dioicus (L.) K. Koch

Kentucky Coffeetree (Gymnocladus dioicus)

Kentucky Coffeetree is very rare in North Carolina, and may exist only as an escape from cultivation. The bipinnately compound leaves are huge, 2 or 3 feet across.

Planted specimen, Portland, OR 7/30/06.

Kentucky Coffeetree (Gymnocladus dioicus)

At left is the only one I've ever seen in NC -- a sapling beside the Blue Ridge Parkway, which may have been an escape, but isn't too far from the nearest native range in southwestern Virginia.

Alleghany Co., NC 9/26/04.

Kentucky Coffeetree (Gymnocladus dioicus)

Bud and leaf scar.

Alleghany Co., NC 9/26/04.

Kentucky Coffeetree (Gymnocladus dioicus)

The seeds (after being roasted and ground) have been used as a caffeine-free coffee substitute, though the pulp between the seeds is poisonous.

Planted specimen, Portland, OR 7/30/06.

Kentucky Coffeetree (Gymnocladus dioicus)

Bark detail.

Planted specimen, Portland, OR 7/30/06.

More information:
Floridata
NC State
U Connecticut
Virginia Tech Dendrology

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