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The two most common types of locust trees are black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia), also called false acacia, and honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos) and both types are North American natives.
Bark and Thorns: The black locust tree has bark of a dark color with a pattern of furrows that look like rope that’s intertwined. Honey locust trees, on the other hand, can have brown or gray bark, and you’ll see clusters of red-brown thorns among the branches or single thorns lining each stem.
The native species of honey-locust has large thorns on its stems and bark. For this reason, thornless honey-locust is most commonly sold.
Locust trees are excellent for erosion control and tolerate urban pollution and road salt spray well, so they are good trees to plant on graded areas and near roads and driveways. Some locusts grow quite tall, so allow enough space between trees that they will not be crowded when they reach their mature height.
Many varieties of locust grow in the U.S., with honey locust and black locust being most common. Honey locust has pods that contain edible seeds, while the pods of other locust tree varieties are primarily for reproductive use.
While some have named it an “invasive” tree given its rapid growth and willingness to spread by seed and root suckering, others see these characteristics as advantageous, if only populations are properly managed to harness these qualities. Make no mistake, locust is not a tree to plant and walk away from.
The honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos), also known as the thorny locust or thorny honeylocust, is a deciduous tree in the family Fabaceae, native to central North America where it is mostly found in the moist soil of river valleys.
Detail of a black locust thorn. Beware: some of the black locust’s branches feature sharp thorns! A remarkable feature of the black locust is its ability to grow new branches by sprouting new roots and shoots. The tree grows with a single leader and thorns can be found on the trunk or branches.
I wear a respirator, but running a manual mill and having the dust thrown onto you, it only does so much. “Toxicity: Black locust is poisonous to all animals if ingested. Although fatal cases are rare, recovery may take several days or even weeks.
The starting point for most people when identifying trees species is the leaves. There are three basic leaf types: needles, scales and broadleaf. Most evergreens have needles or scales, while most broadleaf trees are deciduous, meaning they drop their leaves when dormant.
The honey locust in polygamo-dioecious, which means that the species has unisexual flowers with male (staminate) and female (pistillate) flowers on different trees, but also some perfect flowers (both male and female parts) on each tree. … The flowers tend to appear in the late spring and early summer.
Fig. 1. Black locust wood is useful for lumber, paper pulp, posts, and fuel. This clone growing in Hungary is straighter than most trees in North America, where borer insects and heredity typically produce crooked trunks.
The thornless honeylocust is native from Pennsylvania to Nebraska and south to Texas. The first scientific observations of this species were made in 1700. The tree derives the name “Honey” from the sweet, honey-like substance found in its pods.
The fruit is a legume 8 to 16 inches (15-40 cm) long and 1 to 1.4 inches (2.5-3.5 cm) wide [8,11,22]. Honeylocust is usually described as rapid-growing [8,39]. Average longevity for honeylocust is 125 years [8].
Honey locust can produce numerous thorns that are capable of puncturing implement tires. Though not listed as a toxic plant, contact with thorns often results in sore wounds that are slow to heal.
Honey locusts are hardy, strong and commonly able to tolerate wind storms, ice, soil compacting foot traffic, and pollution. They also grow fast – about 20 feet high in their first decade – and eventually up to 70 feet.
Honey locusts have strong, deep taproots that extend as far as 20 feet down as opposed to most trees, which only extend 3 to 7 feet beneath the surface However, unlike the classic tap root system, honey locust trees also have profusely branching roots, as is characteristic of heart root systems.
Black locust is an excellent choice for firewood. The hot, long lasting fire it produces makes it a popular choice for anyone who heats with wood. … It’s believed you can burn black locust firewood immediately after cutting down the tree.
Edible parts and other uses Only the fruits of honey locust are considered edible. The sweet and fleshy pulp of the bean pods can be eaten raw or extracted and used in a variety of ways. From smoothies, to beer. It has a sweet honey like taste, hence its name.
Black locust makes great fence posts. I wouldn’t bother debarking, (but the bark will rot eventually) as the man rightly told you, just make sure your post is at least 5″ heartwood. Red cedar is same way preferably 5″ red heartwood, debarking unnecessary.
During the Civil War, the Cenfederate Army used honey locust thorns as pins to hold their uniforms together. Various parts of the plant have even been used medicinally. Extracts of the honey locust have been found useful in treating some modern ailments, such as rheumatoid arthritis as well as some cancers.
Black Locust wood is a hardwood with a Janka hardness scale of 1,700 lbf (7,560 N).
Use caution when working around the locust tree; the thorns are extremely sharp and puncture wounds may become infected. Never top the main trunk of a tree; if it will interfere with power lines when mature, select a smaller tree species.
Are honey locust trees messy? While honey locust trees drop both small leaflets from their compound leaves and purple seed pods, these drop around the same time in fall. The resulting mess is rather easy to clean-up, though the small leaflets are a bit difficult to manually rake.
The bark, seeds, leaves and twigs of the black locust tree are toxic to humans, cattle, poultry, sheep, and horses. The black locust grows 40-100 feet tall and is most common in the southeastern states of the United States. … The black locust tree (Robinia pseudoacacia) is extremely poisonous if consumed.
Black locust tree flowers Black locust trees bloom in late spring with intensely fragrant white flowers. Some species produce pink or purple flowers. The flower color helps to tell black locusts apart from honey locust trees that have creamy-green colored flowers.
One lesser-known tree that makes great firewood is black locust. … Not surprisingly, the same density and durability that makes black locust good for fence posts also makes it among the best firewood trees.
Black Locust wood contains natural organic compounds that resist rot for 100 years or more, which makes these trees an extremely valuable and environmentally friendly tree. It is the perfect wood for fence and deck posts.
Woods to stay away from: spalted anything, black locust (the bark will kill a mule), most cedars, pine, any wood the bugs won’t eat and a lot of the exotics.
The Black Locust inner bark, roots, and twigs are poisonous to livestock, especially horses, and can be fatal. The seed is poisonous to humans.
If you’re looking for a heavy-heat, low-smoke type of firewood, though, Black Locust is your best option. While it’s not great for smoking the brisket for Fourth of July, it’s an incredible source of low-fragrance, high heat fuel for your home and cooking fires.
To identify what kind of tree you have, begin by grabbing a leaf. If you please, snap a picture of the tree’s bark, canopy and any identifying features, such as its fruit, blooms and size.
If it is spring or summer, examining the leaves of the tree and noticing their shape, size, and thickness is a great way to start. report this adYou can also notice the shape of the tree and other characteristics such as its bark, fruits, and the color of leaves to tell apart two types of trees.
Germanic paganism and Norse mythology The tree of life appears in Norse religion as Yggdrasil, the world tree, a massive tree (sometimes considered a yew or ash tree) with extensive lore surrounding it.