The Dawes Arboretum

Common name: Cylindrica black locust

Family: Fabaceae (pea family)

Distribution: Species native to e.-c. and e. United States

Hardiness: USDA Zone 4

Life form: Deciduous tree

Comments: A small, deciduous tree to 15' tall and wide. Shoots are stiff, thick and compressed forming cylindrical growth patterns. Leaves are dark, bluish green and oval in shape. Flowers open in late May to early June as long, white fragrant racemes. Fruits are a flattened pod, 4" long. An old-time cultivar originating in France before 1900, but rarely seen in The US. Plant in full sun in well-drained soil, in the spring only. Tolerates poor, rocky soil but subject to locust borers with increasing age.