Synonym(s): Cladrastis lutea, Sophora kentukea
Image ID: 49455
Image by: Ware, Richard & Teresa
Image Collection: NCBG Digital Library
PLANT INDEX
ID_PLANT: CLKE
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Cladrastis kentukea
Include in WOTAS: 0
Publish to Web: 1
Last Modified: 2019-08-30
GENUS INDEX
GENUS CODE: CLADR GENUS SCIENTIFIC:Cladrastis GENUS AUTHORITY: Raf. GENUS COMMON: Yellowwood GENUS SUMMARY: A genus of about 6 species, trees, of the se. United States and montane regions of Japan and China. GENUS IDENTIFICATION: GENUS REFERENCES: Duley & Vincent (2003)=X; Isely (1981)=Z; Isely (1998)=I; Rudd (1972)=Y.
FAMILY INDEX
FAMILY CODE: FABACE FAMILY SCIENTIFIC:Fabaceae FAMILY AUTHORITY: Lindley 1836 or LEGUMINOSAE A.L. de Jussieu 1789 FAMILY COMMON: Legume Family FAMILY SUMMARY: A family of about 730 genera and 20,000 species, trees, shrubs, and herbs, cosmopolitan. FAMILY REFERENCE: Isely (1990)=SE (throughout the family treatment); Isely (1998)=I; Lewis et al. (2005); Wojciechowski, Lavin, & Sanderson (2004); Wilbur (1963a); Robertson & Lee (1976).
FRUITING PERIOD: Jul-Aug. DISTRIBUTION
HABITAT TYPE:
NATIVE RANGE: southeastern United States HORTICULTURAL
Plant Sale Text: Kentucky Yellow-wood is an unusual, highly ornamental southeastern native tree. It produces numerous fragrant white flowers in drooping panicles that look somewhat like those of wisteria in late spring. In fall, its leaves turn bright golden yellow.
The root bark of this species has been used to make a yellow dye. The heartwood of mature trees is vivid yellow in color.
This species is occasionally seen growing in the southern Appalachians. It grows well in cultivation and makes an excellent specimen tree.
This information is derived from the 2018 North Carolina Natural Heritage Program List of Rare Plant Species.
WEAKLEY FLORA
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Cladrastis kentukea
COMMON NAME: Yellow-wood
SYNONYMY: [= Il, K, Mo, W, X, Y; = C. lutea (Michaux f.) K. Koch - C, F, G, I, RAB, S, SE, Z]
PHENOLOGY: Apr-May; Jul-Aug.
HABITAT: Mountain forests, Piedmont bluffs, especially on calcareous or mafic rocks (introduced only in the Piedmont of NC).
COMMENTS: This small to large tree has a native range primarily in the Southern Appalachians (mostly on the west side), the Ozarks, and limestone regions in-between (such as c. TN), ranging from s. OH, s. IN, and s. MO south to sw. NC, sc. SC, n. GA, AL, c. AR, and e. OK, but is cultivated more widely. As discussed by Wyatt (1985), the SC occurrence on Fall Line bluffs of the Savannah River is an interesting disjunction, apparently relictual. Yellow-wood is a distinctive tree, distinguished by its smooth silvery-gray bark, peculiar leaves with alternate leaflets, and pendent panicles of white flowers. The genus Cladrastis has 4 other species, all of temperate e. Asia. Increasingly planted as an ornamental, and likely to start escaping more widely, as reported for Fairfax County, VA (Steury 2011).
RANGE MAP: Cladrastis kentukea.png
Key to Map SymbolsABOUT FAMILY (Weakley Flora) Fabaceae Lindley 1836 or LEGUMINOSAE A.L. de Jussieu 1789 (Legume Family) SUMMARY: A family of about 730 genera and 20,000 species, trees, shrubs, and herbs, cosmopolitan. REFERENCE: Isely (1990)=SE (throughout the family treatment); Isely (1998)=I; Lewis et al. (2005); Wojciechowski, Lavin, & Sanderson (2004); Wilbur (1963a); Robertson & Lee (1976).ABOUT GENUS (Weakley Flora) Cladrastis Raf. (Yellowwood) SUMMARY: A genus of about 6 species, trees, of the se. United States and montane regions of Japan and China. REFERENCE: Duley & Vincent (2003)=X; Isely (1981)=Z; Isely (1998)=I; Rudd (1972)=Y.
HERBARIUM RESOURCES
SERNEC: Find Cladrastis kentukea in Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available) UNC SERNEC: Find Cladrastis kentukea in
University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Herbarium - Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)