Kentucky coffeetree: a tree for all occasions.

Despite its name, Kentucky coffeetree is better used as a specialty wood or for furniture than as a drink. The tree itself is identified by its dark furrowed and ridged trunk and its scaly, thick twigs, which stand out in winter and spring because the tree gets its leaves so late and loses them

Despite the fact that Kentucky coffeetree has a relatively large growing area, it does not grow plentifully and is considered a scarce wood. The tree grows well in moist areas, with a range from Pennsylvania to Iowa and south from Kentucky to Arkansas. Kentucky coffeetree has also been found to grow as far north as southern Ontario and east to central New York.

The coffeetree yields attractive reddish-brown wood that is used in many applications, including cabinetry and architectural installations. In Kentucky, many famous architectural applications have used the attractive reddish-brown wood for paneling, doors and desks. Fruit pulp from the trees is used in home remedies.

Kentucky lore

A great deal of sentiment is attached to coffeetree, especially since it is named for the state of Kentucky, said Robert Volk of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Cabinet, Department for Natural Resources, Division of Forestry.

The tree gets its name from the fact that its seeds were once used as a coffee substitute. Early settlers planted the Kentucky coffeetree in hopes of establishing an American source for coffee. However, the coffee brewed from the roasted seeds is not all that enticing - the raw seeds can be poisonous as can the leaves and pods. The poison is believed to be caused by an alkaloid in the pods and seeds, called cytisin. Volk said that pioneers allegedly used crumpled leaves mixed in a bowl with water and sugar as a means of killing flies in the house. The flies would be attracted to the mix, drink it and die.

In 1994, the State of Kentucky named Kentucky coffeetree as its state heritage tree, replacing it as the state tree with yellow poplar. According to Robert Bauer of Morehead State University, Morehead, Ky., the move was approved by the state legislature because of "the abundance and importance of yellow poplar."

Tree specifics

There are only two species in the Genus Gymnocladus. One is Kentucky coffeetree, Gymnocladus dioicus. The other species is the Chinese Gymnocladus chinensis. The Chinese tree is much smaller than the Kentucky variety, which averages heights of 60 to 80 feet but can grow as tall as 100 feet. The Chinese variety has pods like the Kentucky tree, but its pods are saponaceous and are used as a substitute for soap.

Kentucky coffeetree has double-compound leaves that are 3 feet long and 2 feet wide, with 40 to 60 leaflets. Its purple colored flowers bloom and then are followed with large 12-inch by 2-inch pods with 3/4-inch bean-like seeds.

Seeds for thought

Wood from Kentucky coffeetree is heavy, but not hard, and is strong and coarse grained. Its durability, when in contact with the soil, expands its uses for outdoor applications such as fence posts and railway sleepers.

Despite its many uses, its scarcity makes it a not-much used wood. One inhibitor to its growth is the fact that it grows well with oaks and hickories, but those trees overshadow it and create a canopy effect which is detrimental to coffeetrees. Another reason Kentucky coffeetrees do not grow plentifully is that the seeds are covered in a hard, impermeable seed coat that prevents or delays germination.

Experts recommend that the seeds be treated with acid by soaking them in water at room temperature for 24 hours. Then the seeds should be soaked in concentrated sulfuric acid for two hours. The treated seeds must be washed with water until all traces of the acid are removed. For smaller quantities of seeds, the hard shell can be filed with a simple hand file, aiding germination.

Volk said that lore concerning the growth of Kentucky coffeetrees includes the belief that Indians used the seeds for playing dice-like games and in musical instruments. The trees found growing by Native American homelands are believed to have sprouted because of a tendency to play with the seeds which would then scatter them.

As a member of the Legume Family (Leguminosae) Kentucky coffeetree belongs to the third largest family of seed plants. Most of these trees are characterized by the pea-like flowers and pods. The family includes some 12,000 species of herbs, shrubs and trees around the world. Kentucky Coffeetree is often planted as an ornamental because of its attractive large leaves. The leaves of the tree develop in late spring and then will drop early. The bare trees can be mistaken for dead and in fact, the tree's botanical name is Greek for naked branch.

In North America some 44 species are natural to the Legume Family while six species have been successfully naturalized in North America from the Leguminosae Family.

The leaves from members of this Family are almost always alternate and compound and are rarely simple. Flowers range from the small to the large and-showy, and the fruit is generally in the form of a pod or legume, which opens on two lines and has bean-shaped fruit. Legume Family trees are widely distributed around the world, growing from the tropics to the frigid zones.

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Family Names

Gymnocladus dioicus of the Family Leguminosae

Other Names

Kentucky coffeetree, nicker tree, stump tree, coffeenut, coffeebean, "mahogany" and virgilia.

Height/Weight

Average height range is 60 to 80 feet, but trees can grow to 100 feet with trunk diameters of 1 to 2 feet. Weight is 34 pounds per cubic foot.

Properties

Wood is soft, heavy and coarse grained. Care when seasoning is important or grain can raise. Not a common growing tree. Durability makes it ideal for outdoor uses such as fence posts.