False-acacia - Robinia pseudoacacia

Alternative names
Black Locust Tree
Description

A tree with pinnate, dark green leaves with 3 to 10 pairs of oval, blunt leaflets and very fragrant white flowers in long pendant racemes, which are followed by smooth, dark brown seedpods.  Bark of mature trees is deeply grooved and ridged.  Spreads by root-suckers.  Some trees bear long thorns but this has been bred out of many cultivars. 

A commonly planted cultivar, 'Frisia', has bright golden-green leaves. 

 

Identification difficulty
Habitat

Usually in parks and on road verges as a planted tree, but sometimes escaping to establish in the wild.

When to see it

Flowers June and July.

Life History

Deciduous tree.

UK Status

Scattered localities, mainly in southern Britain.

VC55 Status

Occasional in Leicestershire and Rutland. In the 1979 Flora survey of Leicestershire it was found in 4 of the 617 tetrads.

Leicestershire & Rutland Map

MAP KEY:

Yellow squares = NBN records (all known data)
Coloured circles = NatureSpot records: 2020+ | 2015-2019 | pre-2015

UK Map

Species profile

Common names
Locust, False-acacia
Species group:
Trees, Shrubs & Climbers
Kingdom:
Plantae
Order:
Fabales
Family:
Fabaceae
Records on NatureSpot:
39
First record:
24/06/2015 (Semper, Alan)
Last record:
15/11/2023 (Nicholls, David)

Total records by month

% of records within its species group

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