Talk:Black locust

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Sorry to say, but the two photos posted here are of Honey locust, of the selected thornless form inermis. Black locust leaflets are much more rounded, compare these pics off the web: 1 2; the pods are less flattened, more cylindrical, and the bark is also slightly different 3 - MPF 22:15, 27 Jan 2004 (UTC)

I have a photo of black locust bloom, which I'll put up for you to use, when I have time to look for it, as well as the other photos I promised you. I'm way behind, because we've had an ice storm here in the Carolinas and we lost both power and Internet connection.Pollinator 15:19, 28 Jan 2004 (UTC)

Ummm, say MPF, what "other photos?" Pollinator 01:17, 28 Feb 2004 (UTC) (in onlaught of senility...)

Hrm... This article is about the BL, but the taxobox is about the entire genus. Also, the link from the subfamily page is named Robinia which is the genus. I think this should be split so that Robinia truely gets its own page, and BL and any other species can have its own. - UtherSRG 13:29, 28 Jan 2004 (UTC)

Good idea - I'll put it on the list of 'things to do', if someone doesn't beat me to it. Ditto for Gleditsia / Honey locust. MPF 13:42, 28 Jan 2004 (UTC)

Should we be bold and remove the misleading pictures altogether? I could resize them and add 'em to the honey locust article, as it's still good visual information. I thought the pictures were odd before I noticed the talk page: I've got the depicted tree in my front yard and I've always known it to be a honey. Hadal 13:43, 28 Jan 2004 (UTC)

Hi Hadal - good idea; there's already two similarly huge photos on the Honey locust page, so if you could re-size all of them (or perhaps better crop them, so as to show part of each pic at full size), that'd be good. As a Wiki-newbie I don't know how to deal with pics yet :-) I can amend the captions as suitable after transer, if that helps. -Michael- MPF 14:56, 28 Jan 2004 (UTC)

Hi Michael :) I've resized and touched up the images from this article and honey locust, and hopefully the arrangement there is much more palatable now. I imported a cropped version of the seed pods from this article to honey locust; I don't see that there's any room for the trunk shot. At least, not until the article itself gets a bit longer. Hadal 05:14, 29 Jan 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Toxic honey?

I removed this sentence because I think it's folklore. You are welcome to put it back, but I ask for citations please. Pollinator 01:04, 28 Feb 2004 (UTC)

There have been cases of illness from consuming the honey made from the flowers of the tree, but this is exceptional.

I'm very sceptical of it too, and reduced its prominence and forcefulness of statement a day or two ago - was also tempted to take it out, but don't have any hard info on the subject - MPF 18:43, 28 Feb 2004 (UTC)

It's one of the finest, and most eagerly sought varietal honeys in the world, even if it is pseudo acacia. I'm sure the "market" can identify toxic honeys.Pollinator 19:09, 28 Feb 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Young sprouts may possibly not have toxin?

Hello. These things grow like wildfire in my yard and are a real pest. You cut down the main trunk and it sprouts back everywhere in a few weeks and continues to do so for years. The seedlings seem to know when their mother tree has been damaged and sprout immediately! Also they root sucker and like to grow against my foundation. Anyway, to the point, I was pulling out seedlings and decided to taste one (all parts of the adult tree taste horrible) and I was very surprised to find that it had the pleasant flavor of peas. At the time I wasn't aware of the toxicity. I ate quite a bit and didn't get sick. I'm not dead yet. So there could be a possibility that the young plants don't contain the toxin, much like the young sprouts of Pokeweed. I don't think I'm going to eat anymore though. Anyway, I'll try to find out what the toxin is and the effects it is supposed to have. 63.235.200.98 21:54, 22 August 2006 (UTC)

Okay, here's a quote from [1]: "There are several toxic components in black locust including the toxic protein robin, the glycoside robitin, and the alkaloid robinine. The toxins affect the gastrointestinal tract as well as the nervous system. Clinical signs can manifest as soon as one hour after consumption and can include depression, poor appetite, generalized weakness to paralysis, abdominal pain, diarrhea (which may be bloody) and abnormalities in the heart rate and/or rhythm." I had none of those symptoms. Another site says: "Symptoms include pupil dilation, feeble pulse, severe vomiting, and a death-like palor. The extremities may become cold. Intestinal inflammation, hemorrhaging of the lymphatic tissues, and possible liver damage often occur." Liver damage is hard to determine, but perhaps someone with the proper equipment (not me) could test the sprouts and small seedlings (<2" high) for these compounds. The Lightning Stalker 22:11, 22 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Flowers edible?

As far as I'm concerned the flowers are edible. As kids we ate them a lot and they are quite tasty. Still, this should be checked by some authority on the matter.