Latin: Cladrastis kentukea
Common: American Yellowwood
Zone: 4-8
Height: 30-50'
Width: 40-55'
Exposure: Full Sun
Flower Season: May
Flower Color: White
Fragrance:  Intensely fragrant
Fall Color: Yellow
Notes: Yellowwood is a medium growing, deciduous tree of the legume family which features a broad, rounded crown. Pinnately compound leaves (usually with 7-11 leaflets) open as yellowish green, turn bright green in summer. Tree may not flower for the first 8-10 years. Intensely fragrant, wisteria-like, white flowers in large, drooping, terminal panicles (10-15" long) will virtually cover a mature tree . Bloom is similar in appearance to that of black locust (Robinia). Flowers give way to flat, brown seed pods (2.5-4" long) which mature in September-October. Wood of this tree contains a yellow dye which distinctively colors the heartwood and gives rise to the common name of yellowwood.