LOCUST; ACACIA; YELLOW LOCUST (Robinia Pseudacaci^ 

 Linn.). 40 to 80 feet. Tall, slender tree with narrow, oblong 

 head of small, brittle branches. Bark rough, dark gray, 

 deeply furrowed, the ridges checked into squares. Wood 

 brown, tinged with yellow, hard, coarse-grained, heavy, dur- 

 able in soil. Buds pointed, small, silky, all but tip hidden in 

 ridged twig. Leaves alternate, compound, 8 to 14 inches 

 long, of 9 to 19 oval leaflets, silvery pubescent at first, 

 becoming smooth, blue-green, pale beneath, turning yellow 

 in autumn; stipules at base of leaf paired, spiny, persistent, 

 becoming stout thorns on older branches. Flowers white, of 

 the pea-blossom type, perfect, with distinct parts, fragrant, in 

 axillary, drooping, loose racemes, 4 to 5 inches long. May- 

 June. Fruit clusters of thin, brown, smooth, 4 to 8-seeded 

 pods, 3 to 4 inches long, \ inch wide, 2-valved, persistent 

 through winter. Dist.: Pennsylvania to Georgia; west to 

 Iowa and Oklahoma. Naturalized in New England, and 

 New York, and west of Rocky Mountains. Planted for posts 

 and railroad ties, and for building of boats and ships. Superior 

 wood for mill cogs, wagon hubs, spokes, and tree nails. Fine 

 fuel. 



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