PlantFiles: Yellow False Acacia, Black Locust, Yellow Locust
Robinia pseudoacacia 'Tortuosa'

Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) is considered invasive by the Minnesota DNR
"Ecological Threat:

* Invades primarily disturbed habitats, degraded wood, thickets and old fields crowding out native vegetation of prairies, oak savannas and upland forests, forming single species stands.
* It reproduces vigorously by root suckering and stump sprouting forming a common connecting root system.
* It is native to the U.S. and occurs naturally on the lower Appalachian mountain slopes. It has been extensively planted for its nitrogen-fixing qualities and its hard wood."

A handsome contorted form (if the Contorted Filbert is a 3 out of 3 on the contortion scale I'de say the 'Tortuosa' R.p. is about 2 out of 3), typical Locust leaves, some spines here and there (they are too small to qualify as thorns for me) but what really surprised me were the beautiful white blooms with a fairly stong scent of honey that hang in bunched tassels...I love flowers or seeds that have this "spanish moss" quality of hanging down, giving that secretive, prime evil feel (verigated Box Eldars also have this look though with thier seeds rather than thier flowers) I knew I had to have this tree but it was the awsomely unexpected beauty of it's May blooms that motivated this write-up!