SCIENTIFIC NAME: Cladrastis kentukea (Cladrastis lutea)

COMMON NAME: yellow-wood

LEAVES: Alternate. Odd pinnately compound with 7 alternate leaflets. Entire margins. Rounded leaflets. Base of petiole swollen and conceals axillary bud.

FRUIT: 3 - 4" long legume. Bean pod.

FLOWERS: Racemes of white flowers in the spring. Very attractive though not overpowering.

BARK: Smooth trunk.

OTHER: Hidden buds. Grows 40' to 50' tall. Slow growing and native to north Alabama (doesn't like the heat). A member of the Fabaceae family. Trees planted in a landscape in Columbus, GA languished and then died due to the heat.