Black Locust, False acacia
Robinia pseudoacacia

Family: Fabaceae

What it is like

An upright tree. It grows 22-25 m tall and spreads 12-15 m wide. The trunk can be 60 cm across. It loses its leaves during the year. The branches are slightly arching and thorny. The leaves are alternate and compound. The leaves are dark green with up to 19 small oval leaflets. The leaflets are 30-50 mm long. The central stalk is 20-30 cm long. There are 2 spines at the base of each leaf. The leaves turn yellow in autumn. The flowers are creamy white and have a scent. They are pea like. They occur in drooping clusters about 14 cm long. These are in the axils of leaves near the tips of branches. The fruit are pods 7-10 cm long and flat. These are thin walled, smooth and dark reddish-brown. There are several pods on a central stalk. The seeds are dark and bean like and 3-5 mm long. There are 4-8 per pod.

There are about 20 Robinia species. Chemical composition (dry): Protein = 19.39%; (wet) = 16.97%. It can be invasive.

Where it is found

It is a temperate plant. It is native to S.E. United States. It grows in well drained temperate woodlands. It is frost hardy. It thrives on limestone soils. It can grow in alkaline soils. It cannot tolerate shade. It grows in areas with an annual rainfall between 510-1,400 mm. It can grow in arid places. It suits hardiness zones 3-10. Mt Cootha Botanical Gardens. Hobart Botanical Gardens. In Sichuan. In Yunnan. Arboretum Tasmania.

Countries/locations it is found in

Afghanistan, Africa, Albania, Argentina, Asia, Australia, Austria, Balkans, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia, Britain, Bulgaria, Canada, Caucasus, Central America, Central Asia, Chile, China, Cypress, Czech Republic, East Africa, Easter Island, Eswatini, Europe, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Korea, Lithuania, Macedonia, Mediterranean, Mexico, Middle East, Mongolia, Morocco, Myanmar, Netherlands, New Zealand, North Africa, North America (country/location of origin), Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Reunion, Romania, SE Asia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Southern Africa, Spain, Swaziland, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tasmania, Turkey, Türkiye, Ukraine,USA (country/location of origin), Yugoslavia, Zimbabwe

How it is used for food

The flowers are sweet and edible. They are dipped in butter and fried. They are used to make a sweet tea. The leaves are used fresh or dried for tea. The flowers yield an oil used in flavouring. The young pods are cooked as a vegetable. The seeds are boiled and eaten.

The flowers are eaten especially by children.

Edible parts

Flowers, flowers - tea, oil, seeds, seed pod, fruit, honey

How it is grown

The seeds have a hard seed coat. They can last in the soil for 10 years. Plants can be grown from root sprouts.

Some seeds are produced every year with abundant crops every 2-3 years. Trees live for 90 years.

Its other names

Local names

Acacia blanca, Acacio, Agacsi, Agaggio, Akac, Akacja, Ak'atsia, Akkasinamu, Bagrem, Bel bagrem, Biely agat, Cagg', False-Acacia, Huai Tzu, Huaihua, Robinia, Witakasia, Yalanci akasya, Yanghuai

Synonyms

Robinia pringlei Rose; Robinia pseudoacacia var. inermis DC.; Robinia pseudoacacia L. var. rectissima Raber;