Kentucky Coffeetree

Scientific Name:
Gymnocladus dioicus

Average height at maturity:
60 to 75 feet 

Average width of canopy at maturity:
40 to 50 feet 

Leaves and bark:

  • Kentucky coffeetrees have leaves that can reach up to 36 inches long and 24 inches wide. These leaves typically have leaflets that are 2 inches long and tend to be dark/bluish green. Leaves turn yellow in autumn and have an oval shape.
  • The Kentucky coffeetree has grayish brown to dark brown bark that is rough with hard, thin, scaly ridges curling outward along their edges

Other fun and interesting facts:

  • The Kentucky coffeetree is native to southeastern Canada and the central and eastern United States.
  • The seeds are toxic, but they lose their toxicity when roasted.
  • The seeds of the tree were roasted and grounded by early settlers, and they were used like coffee beans.
  • The leaves have been used as fly poison.
  • The pulp around the seeds has been used to make soap.
  • The wood of the Kentucky coffeetree has been used in constructing railway sleeper cars.
  • The Kentucky coffeetree is currently not the state tree of Kentucky although it was from 1976 to 1994.  
  • Look for a Kentucky coffeetree behind the Northern catalpas in the back of Wood Park   

 

Sources:

https://www.arborday.org/trees/treeguide/TreeDetail.cfm?ItemID=819
https://www.uky.edu/hort/Kentucky-Coffeetree#:~:text=The%20seeds%20of%20Kentucky%20coffeetree,neutralized%20in%20the%20roasting%20process.
https://plants.usda.gov/DocumentLibrary/plantguide/pdf/cs_gydi.pdf
https://mortonarb.org/plant-and-protect/trees-and-plants/kentucky-coffeetree/
https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/gymnocladus-dioicus/
https://taes.tennessee.edu/recs/forestry/plants-coffeetree.htm

 

Photo Credit to Ben Leynse
Information compiled as part of Robert Slater’s 2023 Eagle Scout Project