Kentucky Coffee Tree (Gymnocladus dioicus)

Family: Bean (Fabaceae)

Common Names: Coffeetree, American coffee berry, Kentucky mahogony, Stump tree, American coffee bean, American mahogany, Chicot, Chico du Canada, Chicot tree, Coffeebean, Coffeebean-tree, Coffeenut, Coffeetree, Dead tree, Geweihbaum, Mahogany, Mahogany-bean, Nettle-tree, Nicker-tree.

A native of the midwestern United States, the slow-growing Kentucky Coffeetree reaches 80 feet tall and 50 feet wide in the open. As a member of the Bean Family, it is related to many other representative species, including Honeylocust, Black Locust, and Wisteria, among others.

It got its name because early North American colonists roasted the large seeds to make an ersatz coffee. When eaten raw, the seeds are poisonous. The double compound leaves measure up to 3 feet in length and 2 feet wide.

The wood of Kentucky coffeetree is ring porous, resembling ash, honeylocust or oak. The sapwood is narrow and yellowish white, while the heartwood is light red to reddish brown. The wood is hard and durable and very attractive when finished and polished.