North Carolina Botanical Garden

Plant Index

Scientific Name:
Common Name:
Genus:
Family:

Cladrastis kentukea

Cladrastis kentukea (Dum. Cours.) Rudd

kentucky yellow-wood, yellow-wood

Synonym(s): Cladrastis lutea, Sophora kentukea

Cladrastis kentukea (Kentucky Yellow-wood)

Image ID: 4306
Image by: Hardin, J.W.
Image Collection: Herbarium Collection

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).

NCBG DESCRIPTIVES

INTRO:
STEMS:
LEAVES:
INFLORESCENCE:
FLOWERS:
FRUITS:
COMMENTS:
HEIGHT: 36-72 ft.

DURATION: Perennial
HABIT: Tree

LEAF ARRANGEMENT: Alternate
LEAF COMPLEXITY:
LEAF RETENTION: Deciduous

FLORAL CHARACTERISTICS
SYMMETRY:
BLOOM TIME: Apr-May

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
			x	x	x

BLOOM COLOR:

White	Red	Pink	Orange	Yellow	Green	Blue	Lavender	Purple	Violet	Brown	Not Applicable
x

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.

Bloom Table Text:

NCBG Location:

Cultural Notes:

SOIL MOISTURE: Average, Well-drained
LIGHT EXPOSURE: Part Shade
MINIMUM HARDINESS ZONE:
MAXIMUM HARDINESS ZONE:
GERMINATION CODE:
WILDLIFE VALUE:
DEER RESISTANCE:

GRIM ACCESSIONS

acc_id	acc_num	acc_dt	coll_id	Action
804	1985-0463			View
2060	1986-1856			View
2820	1987-0321			View
3579	1991-0236			View
6958	1998-0167			View

GRIM PLANTINGS

plt_num	acc_id	loc_num	pers_num	inst_dt	Action
1531	804	176	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
3373	2060	1	NCBG staff	1986-12-31	View
4683	2820	8	NCBG staff	1980-03-27	View
5843	3579	72	NCBG staff	1991-04-04	View
9823	6958	160	NCBG staff	1997-10-27	View

USDA PLANTS DATABASE

USDA Symbol: CLKE
USDA Common Name: Kentucky Yellowwood
Native Status: L48 (N), CAN (I)
Distribution: USA (AL, AR, CT, GA, IA, IL, IN, KY, LA, MA, ME, MO, MS, NC, NY, OH, OK, PA, RI, TN, VA), CAN (ON)
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit: Tree

2018 Natural Heritage Program List of Rare Plant Species of North Carolina

NHP ID	S RANK	ROUNDED S RANK	G RANK	ROUNDED G RANK	STATE STATUS	FEDERAL STATUS
18701	S2S3	S2	G4	G4	W1

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 Symbols

ABOUT 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)

WEB RESOURCES

USDA: Find Cladrastis kentukea in USDA Plants
NPIN: Find Cladrastis kentukea in NPIN Database
FNA: Find Cladrastis kentukea in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Cladrastis kentukea

IMAGE USE RECORDS

ID IMAGE: 4306 - Primary Image FloraQuest Plant Detail Page (Landscape Preferred)
ID IMAGE1: 4306 - Primary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE2: 8414 - Secondary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE3: 22032 - Primary Image Plant Sale Sign (Landscape Only)
ID IMAGE4: 0 - Primary Image New Plant Sale Label (Portrait Only)