Myriad Botanical Gardens - Oklahoma City, USA

Common name: Kentucky Coffee Tree

Family: Fabaceae (Pea Family)

Synonym: Gymnocladus dioicus

Distribution: United States

Life form: Deciduous tree

Comments: This unusual tree, native to Oklahoma and midwest North America, is esteemed for its rough textured bark and peculiar bean pods. Bluish leaflets sprout from its ash-gray branches in spring and turn yellow in the fall. Delightfully fragrant flower clusters appear in late spring and develop into large, flat pods that resemble the shape of snap peas. Kentucky coffee tree seeds can be used as a no-caffeine substitute for coffee beans, but they're dangerously toxic unroasted.