10/31/10 BLACK LOCUST AND ROADSIDE ASPARAGUS

IT PROMISES TO BE A FINE DAY
ASPARAGUS GROWING WILD ALONG THE ROADSIDE
BLACK LOCUST LEAVES ARE STILL GREEN
COMPOUND LEAVES AND WICKED THORNS
A HANDSOME TREE, IT CAN GROW TO 75' IN HEIGHT

Sunday, 8:30 AM. 33 degrees, wind W, calm. Te sky is half overcast but clearing rapidly. Humidity is low and the barometer predicts sunny skies. It should be a fine day.
Black locust, Robinia pseudo-acacia, is another green-leaved standout as the leaves of other plants turn color and drop. Native to the mostly southern U.S., It was once much planted for timber and for durable fence posts (its wood is very rot resistant), but has fallen into disfavor because it is quite invasive, both by seed and by runners. It bears clusters of attractive white pea-like flowers in the spring. Mature trees are quite tall and handsome, and are very hardy north. The compound leaves have two small thorns at the base of the petiole that are quite vicious, and young trees can form an almost impenetrable bramble. It is a legume, and enriches the soil with nitrogen. So, take your pick; good plant or bad.
Asparagus growing in the wild is quite spectacular now, standing out like a beacon on paths and roadsides.