NC Native Plant Society:
Plant Details

Cladrastis kentukea [= Cladrastis lutea]

Yellow-wood, Yellowwood, American Yellowwood

Scientific Name:	Cladrastis kentukea [= Cladrastis lutea]
Genus:	Cladrastis
Species Epithet:	kentukea
Common Name:	Yellow-wood, Yellowwood, American Yellowwood
Plant Type	Tree
Life Cycle	Perennial
Plant Family	Fabaceae (Legume Family)
Native/Alien:	NC Native
Invasive Status:	^(*Key)
Size:	36-72 ft.
Bloom Color(s):	White
Light:	Sun - 6 or more hours of sun per day, Part Shade - 2 to 6 hours of sun per day
Soil Moisture:	Moist
Bloom Time:	April, May
Growing Area:	Mountains
Habitat Description:	Mountain forests, Piedmont bluffs, especially on calcareous or mafic rocks (introduced only in the Piedmont of NC). Rare in NC mountains. “Increasingly planted as an ornamental, and likely to start escaping more widely, as reported for Fairfax County, VA” (Weakley 2015).
Leaf Arrangement:	Alternate
Leaf Retention:	Deciduous
Leaf Type:	Leaves veined, not needle-like or scale-like
Leaf Form:	Compound
Life Cycle:	Perennial
Wildlife Value:	Important for Wildlife
Landscape Value:	Highly Recommended and Available
State Rank:	S2: Imperiled, S3: Vulnerable ^(*Key)
Global Rank:	G4 - Apparently Secure ^(*Key)
State Status:	W1: Watch List: Rare but Relatively Secure ^(*Key)
Notes:	Good yellow fall foliage. Flowers fragrant. Cultivars available.
Alternate compound leaves and white flowers with yellow throats Washington D.C. Lisa Lofland Gould
Flowers are fragrant and in pendulous clusters Cultivated specimen in Gaston_Co., NC Larry Mellichamp
Buds are hidden by petiole base Cultivated specimen in Transylvania_Co., NC Larry Mellichamp
Links:	USDA PLANTS Database Record https://auth1.dpr.ncparks.gov/flora/plant_list.php https://gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/cladrastis/kentukea/ https://nc.audubon.org/700 https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/cladrastis-kentukea/