In central Missouri, flowers color the landscape from late winter through mid fall, even later in some years. But the peak of fragrance occurs in May, when lilacs, black locust and yellowwoods bloom (generally in that order). The latter is a small tree native to the mid Mississippi Valley, favoring the lime soils of Kentucky, Missouri and Tennessee; it is otherwise widely planted as an ornamental.
The yellowwood tree is the only member of its genus but is grouped with other legumes: acacias, locusts, redbuds, paloverde, mesquite and mimosa. Growing to sixty feet, they branch low on the central trunk and their oval, compound leaves resemble those of ash trees; come autumn, these leaves turn a bright yellow. The fragrant, white flowers hang in clusters, appearing in late May or early June.
Yellowwoods are named for the color of their freshly cut wood, which browns with age and is among the hardest of North American trees. Long used for firewood and for the construction of tools and rifle stocks, the wood of this tree has also been used to produce a clear, yellow dye. Here in Columbia, yellowwoods have been planted across the University of Missouri campus, providing a beautiful and fragrant display in spring and a brilliant glow in fall.
