American yellowwood

noun

: yellowwood sense 1a

… I'm waiting to see when, if ever, an American yellowwood (Cladrastis lutea) that I planted in 1983 … is going to show me the fragrant wisterialike flowers the tree is renowned for.

—Susan M. Seidman, Fine Gardening, September/October 1990

Word History

First Known Use

1835, in the meaning defined above

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