Kentucky Coffee Wood score?

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Woody5506

Woody5506

Minister of Fire
Feb 14, 2017
910
Rochester NY
Interesting score off CL today - Kentucky Coffee Wood, or at least according to the owner. Really didn't even know these existed around here in upstate NY and I think I would've assumed it was just honey locust.

The difference is pretty subtle, but the smooth cherry like bark within the shaggy honey locust-like texture is a hint it's not locust, but I'm still not 100% convinced. The smell is similar to honey locust that I have but maybe a bit stronger. I know it's the same family of tree.

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I looked up Kentucky Coffetree in my National Audubon tree book and Googled it, most pictures show the bark as looking different than that but on Google some pictures do look like it; I would have thought it was Honey Locust but maybe he's right?
 
Yeah, I mean the more I look at it the more it just looks like honey locust. The guy is positive it's Kentucky Coffee, claims he has done a lot of research on it and that it's pods are much different than honey locust. Also claims to be a wood worker, which makes it a bit more convincing.
 
Looks like Gleditsia to me, which has bark that is platey, while Gymnocladus has more of a cornflake, black cherry bark appearance (sometimes some patches of salmon color underneath on younger trees):
http://www.cirrusimage.com/tree_Kentucky_Coffee.htm
http://www.jfschmidt.com/introductions/espresso/
I can't recall seeing pronounced lenticels on KY coffeeetree like that of honeylocust bark.
Gymnocladus have huge, bipinnate leaves with leaflets that are larger than honeylocust and they sometimes a bluish cast.
 
been emailing the guy a bit, he is dead set on it being coffee wood and at this point I'm just kind of humoring him...at least honey locust is a better firewood anyway, but I'm always looking for something different to add to the wood pile.
 
I would call it coffeetree, the seed pods will tell you for sure as they are quite different than locust seed pods.
The first one I ran into I thought was locust as well but the seed pods helped identify it correctly. Locust = long thin pods, coffeetree= short fat pods. The coffeetree leaves are also larger than locust leaves. Also the coffeetree leaves come out late and fall off early, leading many people to believe it's dead.
 
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I'd have to have him send me a pic of a seed pod before I really would believe him. The bark and wood is just too similar to a honey locust, but still slightly different than the honey locust im staring at right now in my back yard. The larger bark plates is all that's throwing me off.
 
I'm cuttting down a honey locust tomorrow! Bring a piece over we will
Compare side to side!
 
Woody5506 said:
been emailing the guy a bit, he is dead set on it being coffee wood and at this point I'm just kind of humoring him...at least honey locust is a better firewood anyway, but I'm always looking for something different to add to the wood pile.
Click to expand...
lol for some odd reason I know exactly what you mean, normal people just burn wood, we have a sickness here, free wood isn't just good enough anymore, oak is now borning, maple is meehhh, but this, ^ this is something new and exciting, something that you don't run into everyday.
 
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i have actually been thinking about planting one of these in the front yard... ;)
 
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