Other Names: Lady Cigar Tree; Indian Bean.
Growth Form: Short to medium tree up to 40 feet tall; trunk diameter up to 1 foot; crown broadly rounded.
Bark: Light brown, with thin, platy scales.
Twigs: Stout, smooth or slightly hairy, orange-brown to grayish, with conspicuous lenticels; leaf scars in whorls of 3, round-elliptic, elevated, with 12 or more bundle traces.
Buds: Round, reddish-brown, slightly hairy, very small.
Leaves: Whorled, simple; blades ovate, short-pointed at the tip, heart-shaped at the base, up to 8 inches long and about as broad, smooth along the edges, yellow-green and smooth on the upper surface, paler and finely hairy on the lower surface; leafstalks stout, smooth, up to 6 inches long.
Flowers: Large, showy, several in a large cluster, appearing in May and June, the clusters usually more than 6 inches long, each flower up to 2 inches long, the petals white and spotted with purple.
Fruit: Elongated capsules up to 1½ feet long and ½ inch thick, brown, splitting into 2 parts to reveal several winged, hairy seeds about 1 inch long.
Wood: Light in weight, soft, coarse-grained, pale brown.
Uses: Fence posts, railroad ties; ornamental.