6. Yellowwood

Tree Tour

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The pea family of plants is rich in diversity, ranging from Lima beans to locust trees. Yellowwood is a rare, even endangered species of the eastern U.S., named in pioneer days from its heartwood's striking deep yellow color. Echoing the wood, in October the leaves replace their dark green with glowing yellow. As the individual west of Anderson Hall exemplifies, Yellowwood trunks tend to fork low, a trait that bothers economic foresters but endears the tree to lovers of picturesque landscape specimens. Yellowwood is a shade tree of substantial foliage, that every few years excites us in June with wisteria-like chains of white, fragrant flowers, covering the crown in splendid fashion. The smooth elephant-hide bark is gray where algae and lichen has not coated it with a film of green or crusty silver.

Pictured below: Map showing geographic range of Yellowwood.

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