Black Locust
Robinia pseudoacacia
For self-reliant farms, there may be no better tree than the black locust. It grows rapidly and tall, its spines deter browsing, and it produces dense heartwood. Its roots fix nitrogen from the air, which helps support other crops, and nectar collected by bees from black locust flowers makes excellent honey. As firewood, black locust ranks among the highest for the energy it releases. It is also rot-resistant and makes for long-lived fence posts.
Botany Break-Out
Because of its wide range of uses, black locust has been planted all over the world, particularly in Europe. It has also become naturalized in many regions where it aggressively colonizes once open areas, often becoming a threat to native plants in dry and semidry grasslands.
