A certain tree means to me the originality of my Childhood. Its trunk grows stubborn crooked, the light brown bark is rough and cracked. In mid-may blooms, when the Winter is over and summer can begin. Then the white flowers hang in clusters from the Branches down, her yellow-green calyces of bees to pull irresistible, and covers the tree in a sweet smell reminiscent of bergamot. The talk is of a black locust, Robinia pseudoacacia, conventionally called also false acacia. Originally from North America, more than 400 years ago, were planted by the botanist Jean Robin a copy in Paris, the deciduous tree was named after him.
The “false acacia” is probably, therefore, that the flowers and bark of the two species of the same – related to acacia and black locust, however, are not. At home we called them, nevertheless, acacia, but we also said Rummy, to Canasta. Also in the district in which I live today, grow a lot of locust trees. Last week, I couldn’t believe my eyes: All the trees along my street were in the middle of July in full bloom. It is possible that locust trees are in bloom twice a year?
In search of an answer, you learn that the wood of the black locust is dense and harder than oak wood, it rots, and good elasto-mechanical properties, which is why it was used for the renovation of the roof of the Hamburger Michels. That is why resistant furniture made of black locust for outdoor use as garden tables, fences, or Playground equipment. Fresh heartwood is suitable even for permanent contact with soil or Sand. The false acacia is used as timber economically hardly, this is due to their crooked business nature: The trunk grows, how he wants, which is usually wrong, and on top of that, especially quickly; with a Growth capacity of up to 14 cubic meters per hectare per year, it surpasses most of the deciduous trees.
in bloom But they are really twice?
But for other reasons, the Robinia was named recently to the tree of the year 2020: it adapts well to climate change, says Maike Wanders from the German forest protection Association. The decision had, however, been controversial. For one, it is controversial whether they can survive heat and drought, in Frankfurt, for example, will initially be planted no more than street trees. On the other hand, the false acacia is regarded as a ruthless fighter by nature: it tends to stick a rash, is extremely strong in the competition and thus altering sensitive Ecosystems.
With us at home, the black locust is also controversial, because, with their strong growth, they are overshadowed the house, and at some point the aphids were in the bedroom wide. Constantly had to be flowers, leaves or branches to pick up, something was always in the mud. Then, when my mother stumbled over a root, and the ankle verknackste, was sealed the fate of the tree: The false acacia had to go.