Kentucky Coffee Tree (Gumnoclades dicora, sometimes called G.
canadensis). Though one source says this berry is "much too harmful to be
used as a substitute for coffee," it certainly was so employed in colonial
times and again during the Civil War. The tree was variously called the
Kentucky coffee tree, the coffee tree, the coffee berry, the Kentucky
locust, the nicker tree, and the American mahogany, taking the last name
because its wood is a reddish color when cut and is used like mahogany in
cabin making, resembling the locust or the black oak, this tall, handsome
tree grows up to 90 feet tall and bears pods in which are enclosed flat
brown seeds about the size of coffee beans. It is easily grown in ordinary garden soils and is best propagated by root
cuttings or by seed.
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