Kentucky coffeetree, Gymnocladus dioicus, was used as a coffee substitute, but it lacks caffeine
otherwise there would be no reason to return to using coffee and similarly with
tea substitutes such as New Jersey tea, Ceanothus americanus, after the American Revolution.The range is primarily
Midwestern, but there are a few in Alabama,
planted or otherwise; Thomas Jefferson even planted them at his estate, Monticello.The one I know about was where a house had
been, but the tree blew down during a severe storm causing a car accident that was
even mentioned during the live TV storm coverage.There are now a number of suckers that have sprouted from the roots and
considering that they are often sprayed and/or mowed by the highway department I’m
considering salvaging one just so I can have it as a unique specimen tree.As the specific epithet indicates the trees
are dioecous thus there are male and female flowers on different trees, and the
one I know about is male, which is preferred for landscapes due to the lack of
legumes, besides any unwanted seedlings.Unlike other legume species the greenish flowers are radially
symmetrical rather than bisymmetrical like the flower of peas that is typical
of the family, and it does not have root nodules for fixing nitrogen.
