I have not seen this tree before: cannot ID

[pdqdl]

I spotted this tree today, and I can't figure it out.

In the sample picture below, I believe that is a small branch, with pinnately compound leaves attached. If this is bipinnately compound, then each leaf will be HUGE, since the pictured item is 20" long, and I cut it off a much longer stem bearing identical leaves.

Please notice that the pinnately compound leaves have alternating leaflets as well as alternating leaves on the branch. So far, I have not been able to find any trees with that feature. Each leaflet is 2" minimum, 3" max.



Sorry, I didn't get a picture of the tree, the lighting was pretty poor. Imagine a 45' tall tree, shaped somewhat like a walnut, with furrowed bark that isn't quite like a walnut. In fact, it has a black walnut tree right beside it.

I did not find any fruit or seeds to help the id. I will try again later today to get a better picture of the whole tree, but it is in a thicket of other trees and my phone takes poor pictures when it is aimed at the sky.

 

[pdqdl]

OK. I figured it out, but my usual keys were not working. I might have had better luck if I had looked at the leaf a bit harder.

Yes, this tree is listed as bipinnately compound, and the size of the leaf is listed as "very large".

Can you figure it out?

 

[TheJollyLogger]

I'm going with Kentucky coffee tree

 

[bayard]

yes kintucky coffee tree

 

[ATH]

Yep...Ky Coffee

 

[ropensaddle]

Cowboy Coffee lol
Bring to boil then steep. Its poisonous if not!

 

[ATH]

I have heard it is pretty nasty tasting stuff.

 

[JeffGu]

Do you drink this while listening to banjo music?

 

[ATH]

Or perhaps you just hear banjo music while you are drinking it

 

[pdqdl]

I'm going with Kentucky coffee tree

You win the prize! Yes, it is a Kentucky Coffee.

Regarding brewing some, read here: http://treenotes.blogspot.com/2009/01/beans-and-brew-of-kentucky-coffeetree.html

Interesting note from Wikipedia:

"The Kentucky coffeetree is believed to be an example of evolutionary anachronism.[8][9] The tough, leathery seed pods are too difficult for many animals to chew through (in addition to being poisonous) and they are too heavy for either wind or water dispersal. It is thus believed that the tree would have been browsed upon by now-extinct mammoths and mastodons which ate the pods and nicked the seeds with their large teeth, aiding in germination. This behavior is seen among African Elephants eating Fabaceae relatives in Africa. Because of this, its prehistoric range may have been much larger than it has been in historical times. Today, in the wild, it only grows well in wetlands, and it is thought that only in such wet conditions can the seed pods rot away to allow germination in the absence of large herbivores.[10]"
​

Also:

"The Kentucky coffeetree is considered a rare tree species. "Rare species are those that are so uncommon that they should be monitored to determine whether their populations are becoming threatened."[7] It is widely distributed, but rare."​

 

[TheJollyLogger]

Kind of neat trees

 

[ATH]

They are not "commonplace"....but I'd hardly call them "rare" in NW Ohio (old swamp). So...they are not on hill tops (we don't have those here), but I do find them in the dryer parts of woodlands. Most often on shallow bedrock (shallow=I am tripping on limestone sticking up...the soil layer is so thin they never cleared it for agriculture)...not in the standing water with pin oak swamp , silver maple, cottonwood.

They can tolerate the stresses of compacted soil, not enough water, and some salt so they do make good street trees.

The Espresso cultivar is a male (seedless) selection that is not too hard to find at the nurseries I deal with.

 

[Oldmaple]

I have a whole grove of them on my property. Just came in naturally.