Gymnocladus dioica
| Gymnocladus dioica | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 4 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Cross Pollinated | |
| Height: | 66' |
| Width: | 49' |
| Speed: | Slow |
| Blooms: | Early Summer |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Nitrogen Fixer | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Gymnocladus dioica (common name: kentucky coffee tree)
Propagation: Seed - best sown in a greenhouse as soon as it is ripe[1]. The seed can also be sown in early spring in a greenhouse[2]. Scarification and pre-soaking the seed for 24 hours in warm water, especially if it has been stored, will improve germination[1]. Make sure the seed has swollen after soaking, soak it again if it has not and, if it still does not swell, try filing away some of the seedcoat but be careful not to damage the embryo. As soon as they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into fairly deep individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Consider giving them some protection against the cold for their first couple of winters outdoors
Root cuttings 4cm long and 1cm thick in a greenhouse in December[1]. Plant the roots horizontally in pots[2]. Good percentage.
Cultivation: Requires a deep rich soil and a sunny position[3][1]. Tolerates drought, atmospheric pollution, salt and limestone soils[1].
A very cold-hardy plant, tolerating temperatures down to about -30°c[1].
A very ornamental[3] but slow growing tree[4], it rarely flowers in Britain, requiring more summer heat than it usually gets here[4][1]. Trees in the wild seldom live longer than 100 years[5]. The tree has a light canopy so does not cast much shade[1], making it a good tree to use for the top canopy of a woodland garden.
Dioecious. Male and female plants must be grown if seed is required.
Unlike most members of the Leguminosae, his species does not form nodules of nitrogen-producing bacteria on the roots[6].
Range: Eastern and Central N. America - New York to Tennessee, west to Arkansas and South Dakota.
Habitat: Prefers deep rich soils in bottomlands, deep ravines and moist lower slopes[5].
Edibility: Seedpod - raw or cooked. The roasted seeds can be eaten like sweet chestnuts[7]. The pulp is sweet[8][9]. A flavour like caramel[10]. The pods are up to 25cm long and 5cm wide[5].
The roasted seed is a caffeine-free coffee substitute[8][4][11][12][13]. A bitter flavour[14]. Thorough roasting for at least 3 hours at 150°c is necessary in order to destroy the poisonous hydrocyanic acid that is found in the seed[15].
Seed - roasted and eaten like a nut[16][13][14]. The seed contains toxic substances, see notes above.
Medicinal: The pulverised root bark is used as an effective enema[13][10][7]. A tea made from the bark is diuretic[10]. It is used in the treatment of coughs due to inflamed mucous membranes and also to help speed up a protracted labour[10]. A snuff made from the pulverized root bark has been used to cause sneezing in comatose patients[7].
A tea made from the leaves and pulp from the pods is laxative and has also been used in the treatment of reflex troubles[10].
A decoction of the fresh green pulp of the unripe fruit is used in homeopathic practice[9].
Usage: The fruit is high in saponins and is used as a soap[1].
The leaves are used as a fly poison[10].
Trees are planted on the spoil tips of mines to stabilize and reclaim the soil[1].
Wood - coarse-grained, heavy though not hard, strong, very durable in contact with the soil, finishes to a fine lustre. A handsome wood, it weighs 43lb per cubic foot and is used for cabinet work, furniture, construction, fencing etc[11][17][9][18][5][19].
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Pollution: Tolerates environmental pollution.
Seed Ripens: Mid Fall
Flower Type: Dioecious
Known Hazards: The ripe seed contains hydrocyanic acid. This toxin can be destroyed by thoroughly heating the seed for at least 3 hours at 150°c[15].
The seed contains saponins[10]. Although toxic, these substances are very poorly absorbed by the body and so tend to
Also Known As: G. canadensis. Guilandina dioica.
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Sheat, Wilfrid. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. St Martin, 1948.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Elias, Thomas. The Complete Trees of North America. Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1980.
- ↑ Diggs, George and Barney Lipscomb. Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas. Botanical Research Institute, 1999.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Hedrick, Ulysses. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications, 1972.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Sargent, Charles. Manual of the Trees of North America. Dover, 1965.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 Foster, Steven and Billy Tatum. Medicinal Plants of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin, 1990.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ Saunders, Charles. Edible and Useful Wild Plants of the United States and Canada. Dover Publications, 1976.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Weiner, Michael. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books, 1980.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Lauriault, Jean. Identification Guide to the Trees of Canada. Fitzhenry and Whiteside, 1989.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ Yanovsky, Elias. Food Plants of the North American Indians Publication 237. US Department of Agriculture.
- ↑ Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ Hill, Albert. Economic Botany. The Maple Press, 1952.
- ↑ Britton, Nathaniel and Addison Brown. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada. Dover Publications, 1970.