The Conservation Department purchased this scenic, mostly wooded 73-acre tract, located within the city limits of Hannibal, from Mrs. H.J. Freiling in 1979. The area was named after Dr.
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Scientific Name
Gymnocladus dioicus
Family
Fabaceae (beans, peas); formerly in Caesalpiniaceae (sennas)
Description
Kentucky coffee tree is a medium tree with stout, blunt branches forming a narrow, rounded crown.
Leaves are alternate, compound, 1–3 feet long, 1–2 feet wide, with 5–9 branches; each branch with 7–14 leaflets; leaflets ¾–3 inches long, 1–1½ inches wide, broadest at or below the middle, margin lacking teeth, tip abruptly pointed; upperside dark green; underside paler, smooth.
Bark is gray to brown, shallow-grooved, with scaly ridges that curl away on one edge from the trunk.
Twigs are short, blunt, contorted, reddish brown, hairy, later grayish brown, smooth; pores numerous, orange; buds barely protruding from a silky-lined cavity.
Flowers May–June. Greenish white, about ¼ inch long; male and female flowers separate or on the same tree, in clusters.
Fruits October, persisting through winter. Pods 4–10 inches long, brownish black, thick, leathery, with 3–5 seeds; seeds blackish, rounded, flattened, ¾ inch long, very hard shelled, in a sweet, sticky pulp; pods fall to the ground unopened in late winter.
Other Common Names
Kentucky Coffeetree
Size
Height: to 60 feet.
Where To Find
Statewide.
Habitat and Conservation
Occurs in bottomland forests along streams and in moist woods at the base of bluffs.
Kentucky coffee tree is usually found in small colonies in places where conditions are favorable. The seeds today commonly fall to the ground beneath the trees, to be dispersed by water (if by anything at all) — which helps explain their bottomland distribution. In prehistoric times, however, large, now-extinct mammals such as mastodons probably ate the pods, swallowing the seeds and dispersing them, ready to germinate, far away from the parent tree.
Status
Native Missouri tree. Widespread, but nowhere common.
Human Connections
An attractive shade tree, cultivated since 1748. When this tree was first brought to Europe, it was greeted as a curiosity. It is a handsome shade tree with a unique appearance and unusual bark. Small clones can arise from root sprouts.
The wood has been used for posts, furniture, fuel, cabinetry, interior finish, and construction.
Native Americans made coffee from roasted, ground seeds (raw seeds are toxic), and European settlers apparently learned from them, hence the common name.
Ecosystem Connections
Not many animals eat the pods, though squirrels and deer sometimes do. It’s probable that giant sloths, mastodons, mammoths, and other large mammals — megafauna that lived on this continent for millions of years and became extinct only 10,000–20,000 years ago — were this tree’s seed dispersers.
This species has the largest leaves of any native Missouri tree (remember that a compound leaf counts as an entire, single leaf). Why do trees have compound leaves, anyway? Why not just have large, not-compound leaves, or else, many small leaves that aren't compound? For a tree, there can be several benefits to having compound leaves. The structure can help the leaf survive high winds and rain and can help the leaf gather light efficiently. Air circulation among leaflets can be better than in single, giant leaves. Attacks by herbivores (including leaf-chewing insects) are more localized, being limited to particular, expendable leaflets, instead of an entire leaf being compromised. Finally, fallen leaflets can produce a superior mulch at the base of the parent tree, recycling nutrients for following growing seasons.
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Caption
Kentucky coffee tree, Gymnocladus dioica
Credit
Paul Nelson
Right to Use
Photo by Paul Nelson, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation
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Credit
Chris Starbuck
Right to Use
Use of this image is restricted to MDC only
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Credit
David Stonner
Right to Use
Photo by David Stonner, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation
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Caption
There’s no mistaking Kentucky coffee tree when its large, tough seedpods are hanging from its limbs or dropping to the ground below.
Right to Use
Photo by MDC Staff, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation
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Where to See Species
Three Creeks Conservation Area is in Boone County (halfway between Columbia and Ashland).
About Trees, Shrubs and Woody Vines in Missouri
There are no sharp dividing lines between trees, shrubs, and woody vines, or even between woody and nonwoody plants. “Wood” is a type of tissue made of cellulose and lignin that many plants develop as they mature — whether they are “woody” or not. Trees are woody plants over 13 feet tall with a single trunk. Shrubs are less than 13 feet tall, with multiple stems. Vines require support or else sprawl over the ground.