This non-native, medium-sized tree, up to 90 feet tall, has red-brown, scaly bark (B). The winter twigs have large, oval leaf scars (C). The large leaves are variable in form, but usually heart-shaped, up to 12 inches long and 8 inches wide (A). The large white flowers form upright, pyramid-shaped clusters (A,D). The fruit is a long, green bean-like pod (E), up to 18 inches long, which may be seen dark brown and splitting on some trees well into winter, long after the leaves have fallen.
Grows mostly on the floodplains, flowering in May and June. In Fontenelle Forest, uncommon, several around the WLC parking lot. At Neale Woods, uncommon along MRE Trail.
This tree, native to the southeast United States, was extensively planted in our area as an ornamental and for fence post wood. It has since escaped cultivation and has been naturalized in many other parts of the United States and Canada.
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