Black locust - leaf litter close up - October 2018
===General information=== Robinia pseudoacacia, commonly known in its native territory as black locust, is a medium-sized deciduous tree native to the southeastern United States. It has been widely planted and naturalised elsewhere in temperate North America, Europe, Southern Africa and Asia and is considered an invasive species in some areas. Another common name is false acacia a literal translation of the specific name (pseudo meaning fake or false and acacia referring to the genus of plants with the same name.) It was introduced into Britain in 1636. The name 'locust' is said to have been given to Robinia by Jesuit missionaries, who fancied that this was the tree that supported St. John in the wilderness, but it is native only to North America. The locust tree of Spain (Ceratonia siliqua or carob tree), which is also native to Syria and the entire Mediterranean basin, is supposed to be the true locust of the New Testament. Robinia is now a North American genus, but traces of it are found in the Eocene and Miocene rocks of Europe. Black locust reaches a typical height of 40–100 feet (12–30 m) with a diameter of 2–4 feet (0.61–1.22 m).[12] Exceptionally, it may grow up to 52 metres (171 ft) tall[13] and 1.6 metres (5.2 ft) diameter in very old trees. It is a very upright tree with a straight trunk and narrow crown which grows scraggly with age.[5] The dark blue-green compound leaves with a contrasting lighter underside give this tree a beautiful appearance in the wind and contribute to its grace. Black locust is a shade intolerant species and therefore is typical of young woodlands and disturbed areas where sunlight is plentiful and the soil is dry. In this sense, black locust can often grow as a weed tree. It also often spreads by underground shoots or suckers which contribute to the weedy character of this species. Young trees are often spiny, however, mature trees often lack spines. In the early summer black locust flowers; the flowers are large and appear in large, intensely fragrant (reminiscent of orange blossoms), clusters. The leaflets fold together in wet weather and at night (nyctinasty) as some change of position at night is a habit of the entire leguminous family. Black locust produces both sexually via flowers, and asexually via root suckers. The flowers are pollinated by insects, primarily by Hymenopteran insects. The physical construction of the flower separates the male and female parts so that self-pollination will not typically occur. The seedlings grow rapidly but they have a thick seed coat which means that not all seeds will germinate. The seed coat can be weakened via hot water, sulfuric acid, or be mechanically scarified and this will allow a greater quantity of the seeds to grow. The seeds are produced in good crops every year or every-other year. Root suckers are an important method of local reproduction of this tree. The roots may grow suckers after damage (by being hit with a lawn mower or otherwise damaged) or after no damage at all. The suckers are stems which grow from the roots, directly into the air and may grow into full trees. The main trunk also has the capability to grow sprouts and will do so after being cut down. This makes removal of black locust difficult as the suckers need to be continually removed from both the trunk and roots or the tree will regrow. This is considered an asexual form or reproduction. The suckers allow black locust to grow into colonies which often exclude other species. These colonies may form dense thickets which shade out competition The bark, leaves, and wood are toxic to both humans and livestock. Important constituents of the plant are the toxalbumin robin, which loses its toxicity when heated, and robinin, a nontoxic glucoside Horses that consume the plant show signs of anorexia, depression, incontinence, colic, weakness, and cardiac arrhythmia. Symptoms usually occur about 1 hour following consumption, and immediate veterinary attention is required. In Romania the flowers are sometimes used to produce a sweet and perfumed jam. This means manual harvesting of flowers, eliminating the seeds and boiling the petals with sugar, in certain proportions, to obtain a light sweet and delicate perfume jam. ===Common names=== false acacia locust tree ===*Useful websites=== ift.tt/1XlSwFF ift.tt/2LN9TNR ift.tt/2JBYKCJ ift.tt/2HOIx7J ===Scientific classification=== Kingdom: Plantae (unranked): Angiosperms (unranked): Eudicots (unranked): Rosids Order: Fabales Family: Fabaceae Subfamily: Faboideae Tribe: Robinieae Genus: Robinia Species: R. pseudoacacia *Information sourced from the above websites
Black locust - leaf litter close up - October 2018
===General information=== Robinia pseudoacacia, commonly known in its native territory as black locust, is a medium-sized deciduous tree native to the southeastern United States. It has been widely planted and naturalised elsewhere in temperate North America, Europe, Southern Africa and Asia and is considered an invasive species in some areas. Another common name is false acacia a literal translation of the specific name (pseudo meaning fake or false and acacia referring to the genus of plants with the same name.) It was introduced into Britain in 1636. The name 'locust' is said to have been given to Robinia by Jesuit missionaries, who fancied that this was the tree that supported St. John in the wilderness, but it is native only to North America. The locust tree of Spain (Ceratonia siliqua or carob tree), which is also native to Syria and the entire Mediterranean basin, is supposed to be the true locust of the New Testament. Robinia is now a North American genus, but traces of it are found in the Eocene and Miocene rocks of Europe. Black locust reaches a typical height of 40–100 feet (12–30 m) with a diameter of 2–4 feet (0.61–1.22 m).[12] Exceptionally, it may grow up to 52 metres (171 ft) tall[13] and 1.6 metres (5.2 ft) diameter in very old trees. It is a very upright tree with a straight trunk and narrow crown which grows scraggly with age.[5] The dark blue-green compound leaves with a contrasting lighter underside give this tree a beautiful appearance in the wind and contribute to its grace. Black locust is a shade intolerant species and therefore is typical of young woodlands and disturbed areas where sunlight is plentiful and the soil is dry. In this sense, black locust can often grow as a weed tree. It also often spreads by underground shoots or suckers which contribute to the weedy character of this species. Young trees are often spiny, however, mature trees often lack spines. In the early summer black locust flowers; the flowers are large and appear in large, intensely fragrant (reminiscent of orange blossoms), clusters. The leaflets fold together in wet weather and at night (nyctinasty) as some change of position at night is a habit of the entire leguminous family. Black locust produces both sexually via flowers, and asexually via root suckers. The flowers are pollinated by insects, primarily by Hymenopteran insects. The physical construction of the flower separates the male and female parts so that self-pollination will not typically occur. The seedlings grow rapidly but they have a thick seed coat which means that not all seeds will germinate. The seed coat can be weakened via hot water, sulfuric acid, or be mechanically scarified and this will allow a greater quantity of the seeds to grow. The seeds are produced in good crops every year or every-other year. Root suckers are an important method of local reproduction of this tree. The roots may grow suckers after damage (by being hit with a lawn mower or otherwise damaged) or after no damage at all. The suckers are stems which grow from the roots, directly into the air and may grow into full trees. The main trunk also has the capability to grow sprouts and will do so after being cut down. This makes removal of black locust difficult as the suckers need to be continually removed from both the trunk and roots or the tree will regrow. This is considered an asexual form or reproduction. The suckers allow black locust to grow into colonies which often exclude other species. These colonies may form dense thickets which shade out competition The bark, leaves, and wood are toxic to both humans and livestock. Important constituents of the plant are the toxalbumin robin, which loses its toxicity when heated, and robinin, a nontoxic glucoside Horses that consume the plant show signs of anorexia, depression, incontinence, colic, weakness, and cardiac arrhythmia. Symptoms usually occur about 1 hour following consumption, and immediate veterinary attention is required. In Romania the flowers are sometimes used to produce a sweet and perfumed jam. This means manual harvesting of flowers, eliminating the seeds and boiling the petals with sugar, in certain proportions, to obtain a light sweet and delicate perfume jam. ===Common names=== false acacia locust tree ===*Useful websites=== ift.tt/1XlSwFF ift.tt/2LN9TNR ift.tt/2JBYKCJ ift.tt/2HOIx7J ===Scientific classification=== Kingdom: Plantae (unranked): Angiosperms (unranked): Eudicots (unranked): Rosids Order: Fabales Family: Fabaceae Subfamily: Faboideae Tribe: Robinieae Genus: Robinia Species: R. pseudoacacia *Information sourced from the above websites