{"id":19600,"date":"2022-07-01T17:13:49","date_gmt":"2022-07-01T21:13:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/?p=19600"},"modified":"2025-07-30T14:55:55","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T18:55:55","slug":"intro-to-trees-in-indiana-kentucky-coffeetree","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/intro-to-trees-in-indiana-kentucky-coffeetree\/","title":{"rendered":"Intro to Trees in Indiana: Kentucky Coffeetree"},"content":{"rendered":"

The classic and trusted book \u201cFifty Common Trees of Indiana\u201d by T.E. Shaw was\u00a0published in 1956 as a user-friendly guide to local species.\u00a0\u00a0Nearly 70 years later, the publication has\u00a0been updated through a joint effort by the Purdue Department of Forestry and Natural Resources,\u00a0Indiana 4-H<\/a>, and\u00a0the\u00a0Indiana Department of Natural Resources<\/a>, and reintroduced as \u201cAn Introduction to Trees of Indiana.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Kentucky<\/a>The\u00a0full publication<\/a>\u00a0is available for download for $7 in the Purdue Extension Education Store. The field guide helps identify common Indiana woodlot trees.<\/p>\n

Each week, the Intro to\u00a0Trees of Indiana web\u00a0series will offer a sneak peek at one species from the book, paired with an\u00a0ID That Tree video from Purdue Extension forester\u00a0Lenny Farlee<\/a>\u00a0to help visualize each species as it stands in the woods.\u00a0Threats to species\u00a0health\u00a0as well as\u00a0also\u00a0insight into the wood provided by the species, will be provided\u00a0through additional resources as well as the\u00a0Hardwoods of the Central Midwest<\/a>\u00a0exhibit of the Purdue Arboretum, if available.<\/p>\n

This week, we introduce the Kentucky Coffeetree or Gymnocladus dioicus<\/em>.<\/p>\n

This native species, which is part of the broad legume family, historically provided a substitute for coffee, care of the dark bean like seeds held within its fruit, which is in the form of a wide, thick-shelled pod.<\/p>\n

It is easily identifiable by its large seed pods, long doubly-compound leaves and textured, flaking\/peeling bark with vertical ridges. Its compound leaves, sometimes two feet or more in length, are arranged alternately on very thick twigs that have a mottled color and a distinct, salmon-colored pith.<\/p>\n

This tree is found in many parts of the state, but it is never a common tree and is usually widely scattered. According to the Morton Arboretum<\/a>, Kentucky coffeetree is tolerant to pollution and a wide range of soils making it a suitable tree for urban environments.<\/p>\n

This species can grow to up to 100 feet in height and as large as five and a half feet in diameter at breast height.<\/p>\n