False Acacia (Robinia pseudoacacia)

Dear Readers, I noticed several of these trees today at the entrance to Walthamstow Wetlands, and I was struck by their creamy floral perfume, and the decidedly bean-like appearance of the flowers. Otherwise known as the Black Locust, the False Acacia is indeed a member of the Fabaceae or bean family. It is a plant native to coastal regions of the north-eastern USA, but has been part of the UK’s flora since the 17th century – the first mention of the plant is in a catalogue from Tradescant’s garden from 1634. Although the tree has become something of a pest in southern Europe and parts of North America, in the UK it seems to cause no obvious problems (at least according to Stace and Crawley’s ‘Alien Plants’). I do note that the RHS categorise the tree as a ‘thug’, however, which probably means that it should be planted and watched with care.

False Acacia flowers (Photo By H. Zell – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11016434)

The flowers are beloved by bees – in France the honey that’s produced is highly prized and sold as ‘miel d’acacia‘. Interestingly, the flowering season for a particular tree is only about ten days, which makes me even happier that I caught the Walthamstow Wetland trees in their full glory. In some parts of Europe, a kind of floral ‘jam’ is made from the flowers, but as the leaves and bark of the tree are toxic, this needs to be made with considerable care. The flowers are also sometimes deep-fried as beignets or as tempura, and even the seedpods are sometimes eaten.

Robinia pseudoacacia ‘Frisia’ (Photo By © User:Colin / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16920751

False Acacia is often planted as a street tree, in particular the ‘Frisia’ cultivar seen above, which has lovely yellow foliage. However, in ‘London’s Street Trees’, Paul Wood describes how the tree often ‘drops’ branches, sometimes with no warning, which makes it rather less than popular than it would otherwise be.

The tree is a pioneer species, quickly growing on disturbed soil, which has made it a popular choice for planting  to reduce soil erosion – its vigorous root system helps to stabilise the soil, and, being a ‘bean’, it has nitrogen-fixing nodules that help to improve the soil.

False Acacia timber (Photo By Androstachys – Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12077121)

In its native North America, False Acacia has a long history of being used for ship-building – it was used to make the ‘trunnels’ (a new word, hooray!) which is what the wooden pegs that hold the ship together are called. It was also used in marquetry, garden furniture, flooring and panelling. It is extremely rot-resistant, and can last for over 100 years in soil.

The living tree can last for a long time, too: the oldest tree in Paris is a False Acacia, planted in 1601 by its namesake Jean Robiner from a seed that he found in the Appalachian mountains. It can be found in the Square René Viviani. Propped up as it is, it still looks like a happy and healthy tree, in spite of having its upper branches blown off by a shell during World War I.

False Acacia in the Square Rene Viviani in Paris (Photo By Tangopaso – Self-photographed, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10384009)

And here’s a poem by Kathleen Raine, describing the urban and natural environments and how they interconnect in a way that I find irresistible. See what you think.