Cladrastis kentukea  (Dum. Cours.) Rudd - Yellow-wood


 

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Cladrastis kentukea - (image 1 of 8)

 

Taxonomy

Family: Fabaceae

 

Gleason and Cronquist call this C. lutea (Michx. f.) K. Koch.

Habitat

Rich woods and rocky bluffs.

Associates

 

Distribution

Scattered in western VA and western NC to southern OH, southern IN, AL, MS, southern MO, AR, and OK. Native mostly south but planted and probably escaped further north.

Morphology

Medium, multi-stemmed tree to 15 meters. Bark smooth and gray. Leaves alternate, compound with 6-9 leaflets, entire; base of the petiole completely covers the bud. Flowers white, showy, in hanging panicles, pea-like; standard reflexed.  

Notes

Flowers May to early June.

Wetland indicator: Upland (?)

The only member of the genus found in the U.S. Five additional species occur in Asia. Seems to flower in alternating years, at least when young. Heartwood is bright yellow and has been used to make a yellow dye.

References

Gleason, Henry A. and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. Second Ed.
The New York Botanical Garden. Bronx, NY

 

Swink, F. and G. Wilhelm. 1994. Plants of the Chicago Region.
Indiana Academy of Science. The Morton Arboretum. Lisle, Illinois.

 

USDA, NRCS. 2002. The PLANTS Database, Version 3.5 (http://plants.usda.gov).

National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.

 


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 Michael Hough © 2004