Gymnocladus (Neo-Latin, from Greek γυμνὀς, gymnos, naked + κλάδος, klados, branch)[1] is a small genus of leguminous trees. The common name coffeetree is used for this genus. It includes six species native to eastern North America and southeastern Asia.
Gymnocladus species are very large, deciduous trees with bipinnate leaves.
The greenish-white flowers only appear after long periods of warm weather. Very long legumes are formed that hang from the branches. The species of this genus are predominantly distributed endochorically.
There are five species:[2] [3]
| Image | Name | Common Name | Distribution | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gymnocladus assamicus | India | |||
| Gymnocladus angustifolius | Vietnam | |||
| Gymnocladus burmanicus | Dekang tree | Myanmar, India, Vietnam | ||
| Gymnocladus chinensis | soap tree | central China | ||
| Gymnocladus dioicus | Kentucky coffeetree | Midwest and Eastern North America | ||
| Gymnocladus guangxiensis | southeastern China (Guangxi) |