PA State Champion Kentucky Coffee Tree

Gymnocladus dioicus Origin: Swarthmore, Pennsylvania  Improvement status: Cultivated wild material Seeds per packet: ~8 BOTANICAL SAMPLE - NOT GERMINATION TESTED Life cycle: Perennial Kentucky Coffee Tree is one of the most beautiful native trees in North America. Loaded with beautiful cascades of white flowers, followed by large pods, and with its broad, spreading, compound leaves, it looks like it would be at home in the tropics. But it is a deciduous hardwood that loses its leaves every fall. The tree gets its name from its large shiny seeds, which can be used to produce a coffee substitute after roasting (though they must be roasted: the raw seeds will make you sick). The wood is highly sought after by carpenters for the beautiful red-orange color of its heartwood (which contrasts well with the yellow-white sapwood).We collected these seeds from the campus of Swarthmore College outside Philadelphia (with the help of our grower and friend Dylan Bruce), which has many spectacular t