LOCUST 



(Robinia Pseudacacia) 



LOCUST belongs to the pea family, known in botany as Leguminosa.* 

 In most parts of its range it is known simply as locust, but in some 

 localities it is called black locust, an allusion to the color of the bark; 

 yellow locust, descriptive of the heartwood ; white locust, referring to the 

 bloom ; red locust, probably a reference to the wood, and green locust for 

 the same reason; acacia and false acacia; honey locust, a name which 

 belongs to another species; post locust, because it has always been a 

 favorite tree for fence posts; and pea-flower locust, a reference to the 

 bloom. 



Several of the names refer to the color of the wood, and seem 

 contradictory, for yellow, green, and red are not the same; yet the 

 names describe with fair accuracy. Color of the heartwood varies with 

 different trees, yellow with some, tinged with red with others, and 

 sometimes it might be appropriately called blue locust, for the heart- 

 wood is nearer that color than any other. 



The natural range of locust seems to have been confined to the 

 Appalachian mountain ranges from Pennsylvania to Georgia. It 

 probably existed as a low shrub in parts of Arkansas and Oklahoma. 

 Its range has been extended by planting until it now reaches practically 

 all the states, but is running wild in only about half of them. It has 

 received a great deal of attention from foresters and tree planters. It 

 attracted notice very early, because of its hardness, strength, and lasting 

 properties. At one time the planting of locust came nearly being a fad. 

 In England it was supposed that it would rise to great importance in 

 shipbuilding, and in France it was looked upon as no less important. 

 Books were written on the subject in both English and French. All the 

 details of planting and utilization were discussed. Its generic name, 

 Robinia, is in honor of a Frenchman, Robin. Extravagant claims 



*This is a very large family, containing trees, shrubs, and vines, such as locusts, 

 acacias, beans, and clovers. There are 430 genera in the world, and many times that 

 many species. The United States has seventeen genera and thirty species of the pea 

 family that are large enough to be classed as trees. Their common names follow: 

 Florida Cat's Claw, Huajillo, Texan Ebony, Wild Tamarind, Huisache, Texas Cat's 

 Claw, Devil's Claw, Leucaena, Chalky Leucaena, Screwbean, Mesquite, Redbud, Texas 

 Redbud, Honey Locust, Water Locust, Coffeetree, Horsebean, Small-leaf Horsebean, 

 Greenbark Acacia, Palo Verde, Frijolito, Sophora, Yellow-wood, Eysenhardtia, Indigo 

 Thorn, Locust, New Mexican Locust, Clammy Locust, Sonora Ironwood, Jamaica 

 Dogwood. These species are treated separately in the following pages, and are given 

 space according to their relative commercial importance in the particular regions 

 where they grow. 



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