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| Cladrastis kentukea (Dum.Cours.) Rudd | ||||||||||||||||||
Cladrastis kentukea (Kentucky Yellowwood or American Yellowwood, syn. C. lutea, C. tinctoria) is a species of Cladrastis native to the southeastern United States, with a restricted range from western North Carolina west to eastern Oklahoma, and from southern Missouri and Indiana south to central Alabama.
It is a small to medium-sized deciduous tree typically growing 10-15 m tall, exceptionally to 27 m tall, with a broad, rounded crown and smooth gray bark. The leaves are compound pinnate, 20-30 cm long, with 5-11 (mostly 7-9) alternately arranged leaflets, each leaflet broad ovate with an acute apex, 6-13 cm long and 3-7 cm broad, with an entire margin and a thinly to densely hairy underside. In the fall, the leaves turn a mix of yellow, gold, and orange. The flowers are fragrant, white, produced in Wisteria-like racemes 15-30 cm long. Flowering is in early summer (June in its native region), and is variable from year to year, with heavy flowering every second or third year. The fruit is a pod 5-8 cm long, containing 2-6 seeds.
Plants from Alabama have the leaves more densely hairy underneath than those from further north, and are distinguished as C. kentukea f. tomentosa (Steyermark) Spongberg.
The largest specimen known is at Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati, Ohio, 22 m tall and 2.2 m trunk diameter; the tallest known is a slender tree 27 m tall but only 0.55 m trunk diameter, at Plott Cove Research Natural Area, Georgia (Spongberg & Ma 1997; Eastern Native Trees Society).
Cultivation and uses
It is widely grown as an ornamental tree for its attractive flowers, and is locally naturalized in many areas of the eastern United States outside of its restricted native range. It thrives in full sunlight and in well-drained soil, althought it tolerates high pH and dry soil. The Yellowwood can withstand urban settings and is attractive to birds. A number of cultivars have been selected, including 'Perkin's Pink' (syn. 'Rosea', an invalid name) with pink flowers.
The name yellowwood derives from its yellow heartwood, used in small amounts for specialist furniture, gunstocks and decorative woodturning.
References
- Germplasm Resources Information Network: Cladrastis kentukea
- USDA Plants Profile: Cladrastis kentukea
- Plants for a Future: Cladrastis lutea
- Andrews, S. Trees of the Year: Cladrastis and Maakia. Int. Dendrol. Soc. Year Book 1996: 12–26.
- Spongberg, S. A. & Ma, J.-S. (1997). Cladrastis (Leguminosae subfamily Faboideae tribe Sophoreae): a historic and taxonomic overview. Int. Dendrol. Soc. Year Book 1996: 27–35.
Leaf
Top side of a leaflet
Underside of a leaflet
Bark
Inflorescens
Flowers
