Habitat

• native to the eastern and central United States
• not common in any part of its native range
• hardy to zone 4

Habit and Form

• a large deciduous tree
• grows up to 75' tall or even larger
• develops a 40' to 50' spread
• upright to irregular branching
• coarse, but picturesque branching in winter
• shape is obovate

Summer Foliage

• alternate leaf arrangement
• bipinnately compound leaves
• leaves are up to 3' long and 2' wide
• 6 to 14 pinnae (leaflets) per leaf
• each pinnae can have 6 to 14 leaflets
• leaf color is dark green or blue-green
• late to leaf out in spring
• newly emerging leaves are tinged with pink

Autumn Foliage

• inconsistent
• sometimes a good yellow, but often not good
• fallen leaves are somewhat of a litter problem due to the large rachis

Flowers

• dioecious, with male and female plants
• greenish white 0.75' to 1" long flowers
• flowers held in large panicles; 8" to 12" long for females and 3" to 4" long for males
• flowers not highly ornamental, but interesting

Fruit

• a chunky, dark reddish brown pod
• 5" to 10" long and 1.5' to 2" wide
• leathery texture
• ripens in October
• large, very hard seeds inside pod
• fruit may be considered a litter issue

Bark

• interesting textured bark
• gray and ridged and furrowed with a rough look to it

Culture

• full sun
• prefers deep, moist, rich soil for best growth
• adaptable to many soils
• tolerant of drought
• tolerant of pollution

Landscape Use

• lawn tree
• shade tree
• parks
• golf courses

Liabilities

• hard to find in commerce
• litter potential from leaves and fruit

ID Features

• large tree
• coarse branching
• rough gray bark
• stout twigs
• buds embedded in wood, barely visible through a small "belly button"-like opening
• bud considerably above the leaf scar
• female plants with large, chunky pods
• large heart-shaped leaf scars

Propagation

• by seed
• root cuttings offer a vegetative method

Cultivars/Varieties

'Expresso', 'J.C. McDaniel' (Prairie Titan®) and 'Stately Manor' - At the current time, these cultivars are rarely offered in the trade. They are all male (fruitless) selections selected for their upright branching habit which is elm-like and much taller than wide (50'-70' tall and 20'-40' wide). This branching habit may make them suitable as street trees.