Native Black Goat Tree: Is the Black Goat Tree Invasive?
What is the history of false acacia, or black locust? Is it a beautiful ornament or something very intrusive and unwanted? See below for the intriguing response.
The Black Locust Tree
Love for black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) is difficult to resist. Few trees have a more pleasing contrast between the upper and lower surfaces of their leaves, or more beautiful, fragrant, or abundant flower production. It’s such a pretty tree, with broad limbs and a massive trunk that can reach heights of 100 feet (30.5 meters), which stands in sharp contrast to the chains of exquisite white blossoms and the delicate, fluttering foliage.
The blooms produce brown seed pods that are 3 to 4 inches (7.6 to 10 cm) long. These pods, which resemble flat, dried pea pods, can hold up to eight seeds each and are incredibly resilient. These seeds not only survive the winter, but they also remain viable for years in the seed bank thanks to their hardy, impermeable outer layer.
Another low-maintenance tree that is quite simple to grow is black locust. However, the tree’s ability to survive without human support has also become a liability. It has the ability to outgrow practically all other local native species, driving them out.
Black locust is native to where?
The black locust tree is not a species that was brought over from another country. It is a native species instead. Native to the Southeastern United States, the black locust ranges from Pennsylvania to Georgia and westward to Appalachia. Additionally, the trees are native to southern Illinois, Indiana, and Missouri’s forest edges and slopes.
However, the tree’s natural range has been expanded. Due to the beauty and durability of its wood, this tree has been grown as a lumber tree all over the East Coast. In addition, it was introduced as an ornamental and a soil stabilizer to residential areas outside of its natural range. Millions of these trees have escaped cultivation today, and you can see them growing in thickets and swarming alongside roadsides in places like Cape Cod.
Do Black Locust Plants Invade?
The scent of the flowers attracts bees and other pollinating insects, even though the blossoms require pollinators to develop seeds. So are trees that bear black locusts invasive? To the dismay of the U.S. East Coast, they are, in fact, highly invasive. These trees spread via suckers as well as seeds.
Moreover, by fixing nitrogen, the roots of black locust trees change the chemistry of the soil. This implies that even decades after the black locust is eradicated, the soil may still be able to support a greater diversity of other invasive species. It is therefore a serious threat to native vegetation found outside of its historical range in North America. Its shade lessens competition from sun-loving plants as it spreads into new areas, and dense clusters produce shaded islands devoid of ground vegetation.
In the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, where black locust is not native, it is currently forbidden to purchase or sell black locust trees. However, in states like Indiana where it is native and has taken over savanna and prairie habitats, where it was not a native species, black locust is also categorized as invasive.
