T 



COFFEETREE 



(Gymnodadus Dioicus) 



I HIS tree is scarce though its range covers several hundred thousand 



square miles, from New York to Minnesota, and from Tennessee to 

 Oklahoma. It never occurs in thick stands, and usually the trees are 

 widely scattered. Many districts of large size within the limits of its 

 range appear to have none. 



The names coffeetree and Kentucky coffeetree refer to the custom 

 of the pioneers, who settled the region south of the Ohio river, and who 

 used the grotesque fruit as a substitute for coffee at a time when the 

 genuine article could not be procured. The seed is a very hard bean that 

 can be procured in abundance, where trees abound. 



The beans were softened by roasting or parching, and were then 

 pounded into meal with hammers, and boiled for coffee. The beverage 

 was black and bitter, and a little of it would go a long way with a modern 

 coffee drinker. When the Kentuckians were able to procure coffee they 

 let the wild substitute alone. 



The name was sometimes varied by calling it coffeenut or coffeenut 

 tree, and sometimes it was known as coffeebean and coffeebean tree. It 

 is less easy to explain why it was called mahogany in New York, and 

 virgilia in Tennessee. Some knew it as the nicker tree, but the reason 

 for the name is not known. Stump tree was another of its names. This 

 was meant to be descriptive of the tree's appearance after it had shed its 

 leaves. It has remarkable foliage, double compound leaves two or three 

 feet long, with four or five dozen leaflets. When leaves fall in autumn it 

 looks as if the tree is shedding its twigs; and when all are down, the 

 stripped and barren appearance of the branches suggests the name 

 stump tree. 



The flowers are greenish-purple and are inconspicuous. In this 

 respect they differ from many trees of the pea family which are noted 

 for then* attractive bloom. The fruit is among the largest of the tree 

 pods of this country, ranging hi length from six to ten inches and from 

 one and a half to two in width. When fully grown they are heavy 

 enough to make their presence felt if they drop on the heads of persons 

 beneath. They are slow to fall, however, and it is not unusual for them 

 to cling to the branches until late winter or early spring. 



The coffeetree has been known to attain a diameter of five feet 

 and a height of more than a hundred, but the usual size is about half of 

 that. It prefers rich bottom lands, and the trunks generally separate 

 into several stems a few feet above the ground. Only one species exists 



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