Robinia
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 Robinia pseudoacacia
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Between 8-10; see text |
Robinia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae, native to North America and northern Mexico. They are deciduous trees and shrubs growing 4-25 m tall, with pinnate leaves with 7-21 oval leaflets. The flowers are white or pink, in usually pendulous racemes. Many species have thorny shoots, and several have sticky hairs on the shoots.
The genus is named after the French gardener Jean Robin, who introduced the plant in Europe in 1601.
The number of species is disputed between different authorities, with as few as four recognised by some authors, while others recognise up to ten species. There are also several natural hybrids.
Robinia species are sometimes used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Brown-tail, Buff-tip, The Engrailed and Giant Leopard Moth.
- Species
(*: not accepted as distinct by all authorities)
- Robinia boyntonii *
- Robinia elliottii *
- Robinia hartwegii * (R. viscosa var. hartwegii)
- Robinia hispida - Bristly locust
- Robinia kelseyi *
- Robinia luxurians *
- Robinia nana *
- Robinia neomexicana - New Mexican locust
- Robinia pseudoacacia - Black locust
- Robinia viscosa - Clammy locust
- Hybrids
- Robinia × ambigua - R. pseudoacacia × R. viscosa
- Robinia × holdtii - R. neomexicana × R. pseudoacacia
- Robinia × longiloba - R. hispida × R. viscosa
- Robinia × margarettiae - R. hispida × R. pseudoacacia
Robinia Drive is a High-class neighborhood in Loudonville, New York named after the the Robinia plants found in the environment. There are many Robinia plants in the neighborhood and some of the nearby street names are different variations of the Robinia plant, for example, Locust Park.
