Black locust

Description:

Black locust reaches a typical height of 40–100 feet (12–30 m) with a diameter of 2–4 feet (0.61–1.22 m).[12] Exceptionally, it may grow up to 52 metres (171 ft) tall[13] and 1.6 metres (5.2 ft) diameter in very old trees. It is a very upright tree with a straight trunk and narrow crown which grows scraggly with age.[5] The dark blue-green compound leaves with a contrasting lighter underside give this tree a beautiful appearance in the wind and contribute to its grace. Black locust is a shade intolerant species[7] and therefore is typical of young woodlands disturbed areas where sunlight is plentiful and soil is dry, in this sense, black locust can often grow as a weed tree. It also often spreads by underground shoots or suckers which contribute to the weedy character of this species.[5] Young trees are often spiny, however, mature trees often lack spines. In the early summer black locust flowers; the flowers are large and appear in large, intensely fragrant (reminiscent of orange blossoms), clusters. The leaflets fold together in wet weather and at night (nyctinasty) as some change of position at night is a habit of the entire leguminous family.

Habitat:

The black locust is native to the eastern United States, but the exact native range is not accurately known[7] as the tree has been cultivated and is currently found across the continent, in all the lower 48 states, eastern Canada, and British Columbia.[1] The native range is thought to be two separate populations, one centered about the Appalachian Mountains, from Pennsylvania to northern Georgia, and a second westward focused around the Ozark Plateau and Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas, Oklahoma and Missouri. Black locust's current range has been expanded by humans distributing the tree for landscaping and now includes: Australia, Canada, China, Europe, India, Northern and South Africa, temperate regions in Asia, New Zealand, Southern South America.