The Kentucky Coffeetree, Gymnocladus diocius, produces a pod that usually gets three times as big as this and stays on the tree through the winter. This developing one was probably downed by the wind.
A larger one wrenched opened by a mammal (me, duh!). The thumbnail-sized seeds within were sometimes used, after roasting, as a coffee substitute by evidently desperate pioneer java junkies moving into the Old Northwest (Ohio, Indiana, Illinois) and Missouri, where the tree is native to bottomlands. The goo inside the pods can sometimes be a vivid neon green. Click on this image to fill up your expansive monitor.
Nuts! Kentucky Coffeetree
2 responses to “Nuts! Kentucky Coffeetree”
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My Missouri woods is mostly ridgetop, so I don’t have any of these trees. Would like some though. They probably attract turkeys.
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[…] difficulty by growing in clonal groupings.I identified this tree by noticing the distinctive pods. You’ve seen the pods before if you’re a regular here at B&B.. The seeds within the pods are toxic when raw. When roasted, however, the seeds were used as a […]
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