Etymology. “Locust” comes from the Latin locusta, meaning both “locust” (the insect) and “lobster”. By analogy with a levantine use of the Greek word for the insect, akris, for the pods of the carob tree which supposedly resembled it, the pod-bearing North American tree was called “locust” starting in the 1630s.
Do locust trees have locusts?
Locust trees are a type of fast-growing flowering plant, belonging to the family of plants known as Fabaceae. … Commonly found variants of Locust trees include the Black and Honey Locusts. Both these trees are popular for their incredibly solid wood, their mildly fragrant flowers, and their vibrant foliage.
Where do locust trees come from?
locust, (genus Robinia), genus of about 10 species of flowering trees and shrubs in the pea family (Fabaceae), occurring in eastern North America and Mexico. Several locust trees are cultivated as ornamentals, especially the black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia), often called false acacia, or yellow locust.
What are locust trees called?
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.What are locust trees good for?
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.
Does locust make good firewood?
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.
Is honey locust vs black locust?
The leaves are very different. The black locust has very simple compound leaves where honey locust trees have bipinnate compound leaves. … The black locust’s bark is dark in colour with grooves that resemble an intertwining rope. The honey locust’s bark is brown or grey colour and the tree has bunches of thorns.
Why do honey locust trees have thorns?
These thorns are thought to have evolved to protect the trees from browsing Pleistocene megafauna, which may also have been involved in seed dispersal, but the size and spacing of them is less useful in defending against smaller extant herbivores such as deer. Thornless forms (Gleditsia triacanthos var.Can you eat locust beans?
Inside these pods is a sweet pulp which can be eaten raw, served as a drink, or turned into a powder to store and then use to enhance the flavor of soups and stews. Beyond the pulp, the locust bean fruit contains seeds.
Are there male and female locust trees?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.
Article first time published onHow much is a locust tree worth?
Prices for these products range from $1 – $3 per linear foot for whole posts, and from $1.50 – $3.50/board foot for milled lumber, which is far above the prices for most conventional hardwood lumber.
Can you eat honey locust pods?
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.
How do you identify a locust tree?
Ways to Identify a Locust Tree In the spring, identify locust trees (Robinia spp.) by their pendant clusters of fragrant, sweet pea-shaped flowers, which are usually white or pink. And keep an eye out for sharp, straight or forked spines and by their feathery, pinnately compound leaves.
Why are locust trees dying?
Bark beetles and roundheaded borers may bore into black locust tree branches. Bark beetles can cause the outer tips of branches to die, which is a condition called “flagging.” They mine into the branches up to 6 inches from the tip, causing the end of the branch to die. … The dying branches should be removed and burned.
How long does a locust tree live?
Locust trees can live for over a hundred years, and the wood is one of the hardest woods from any deciduous tree. Locust tree lumber is exceptionally durable and the timber is excellent for making furniture, fence posts, flooring, and small boats. Compared to honey locust timber, black locust wood is more common.
Is a locust tree a good tree?
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.
Do honey locust trees attract bees?
Locust may not be everyone’s favorite choice of tree, but it does have value to foraging bees. … Honey bees love it, as do many native pollen bees. If you don’t want to plant black locust, consider another Robinia species native to your area.
Is black locust sawdust toxic?
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.
Can you burn black locust wood in a fireplace?
Black Locust has an incredible BTU rating of nearly 30. … Black Locust burns longer than other types of wood as well. It also makes the most excellent coals. Black Locust firewood is perfect for throwing into the fireplace for overnight burning.
What is the hottest burning wood?
- Osage orange, 32.9 BTUs per cord.
- Shagbark hickory, 27.7 BTUs per cord.
- Eastern hornbeam, 27.1 BTUs per cord.
- Black birch, 26.8 BTUs per cord.
- Black locust, 26.8 BTUs per cord.
- Blue beech, 26.8 BTUs per cord.
- Ironwood, 26.8 BTUs per cord.
- Bitternut hickory, 26.5 BTUs per cord.
What wood should you not burn?
Watch out for any wood covered with vines. Burning poison ivy, poison sumac, poison oak, or pretty much anything else with “poison” in the name releases the irritant oil urushiol into the smoke. Breathing it in can cause lung irritation and severe allergic respiratory problems, the Centers for Disease Control state.
Can you burn pecan wood in a fireplace?
Pecan is a great wood for cooking, barbecue smoking and fireplaces. It’s one of the better hardwoods and burns with very little smoke. It’s a great mixer to burn with other aromatic woods.
Is there a locust fruit?
Also known as locust fruit or jatobá, stinking toe fruit is the fruit of the West Indian Locust, which is the largest Caribbean tree. The oblong fruit is encased within a big brown pod that’s shaped like a toe, hence the name. … Stinking toe fruit was first mentioned in Brazilian herbal medicine in the 1930s.
What was the locust John the Baptist ate?
He ate only honey and wild locusts. … The description of what John ate has a decidedly Qumran or Essene ring to it. That is, locusts and honey were acceptable foods for the Qumranites and the Essenes. ‘
Are locust leaves poisonous?
The bark, seeds, leaves and twigs of the black locust tree are toxic to humans, cattle, poultry, sheep, and horses. … The black locust tree (Robinia pseudoacacia) is extremely poisonous if consumed.
Are honey locust trees valuable?
Honeylocust, despite the nasty thorns, does produce beautifully colored lumber; however, honeylocust is traditionally considered a low to lower value species — especially by timber buyers. However, honeylocust lumber sawn and sold by custom sawmill operators is often sold for a premium price.
What is falling from my honey locust tree?
Purple Seedpods Will Drop in the Fall Regarding the main event: you can expect a mature honey locust tree to drop a few hundred purple seed pods around the middle of fall. These seed pods are kind of a pain, but they clean up easily enough.
Is honey locust tree poisonous?
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.
Why is it called Honey Locust?
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.
Is locust good for fence posts?
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.
How much is a 100 year old oak tree worth?
A 100 year old tree would be worth considerably more – having one grown and moved in, plus after-care until it is established, would cost a theoretical maybe $50,000-$100,000. And demand punitive damages as well.
