Black Locust - Robinia Pseudoacacia - Bagrem

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About Black Locust - Robinia Pseudoacacia - Bagrem

Black Locust is a beautiful tree, with stunning white flowers. In the country I live in, black locusts are valued as a honey tree and subject of many popular romance songs and ballads. Post photos of black locusts here - alone, with other trees, or photos of their flowers in bloom. Let's appreciate them together!

From Wikipedia:

Robinia pseudoacacia, commonly known as the Black Locust, is a tree in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae. It is native to the southeastern United States, but has been widely planted and naturalized elsewhere in temperate North America, Europe and Asia and is considered an invasive species in some areas. A less frequently used common name is False Acacia, which is a literal translation of the specific epithet.

Native from Pennsylvania to northern Georgia and westward as far as Arkansas and Oklahoma, but has been widely spread. Reaches the height of seventy feet with a trunk three or four feet in diameter, with brittle branches that form an oblong narrow head. Spreads by underground shoots. The leaflets fold together in wet weather, also at night; some change of position at night is the habit of the entire leguminous family.

Black locust is a major honey plant in eastern USA, and, having been taken and planted in France, is the source of the renowned acacia monofloral honey from France. Flowering starts after 140 growing degree days. However, its blooming period is short (about 10 days) and it does not consistently produce a honey crop year after year. Weather conditions can have quite an effect on the amount of nectar collected as well; in Ohio state for example, good honey locust flow happens once a year out of five years.

In Europe it is often planted alongside streets and in parks, especially in large cities, because it tolerates pollution well. The species is unsuitable for small gardens due to its large size and rapid growth, but the cultivar 'Frisia', a selection with bright yellow-green leaves, is occasionally planted as an ornamental tree.

Black locust has nitrogen-fixing bacteria on its root system; for this reason it can grow on poor soils and is an early colonizer of disturbed areas.