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Home , Acacia, Fabaceae, Robinia, Robinia pseudoacacia

The Introduction of Locust ( pseudoacacia L.) to Massachusetts

David C. Michener

Though it is a firmly entrenched member of the Commonwealth’s flora, the black locust is not native to Massachusetts

Our common black locust (Robinia pseudoa- heavily fragrant. The woody pods mature by cacia L.) is not native to Massachusetts but is late summer and remove any doubt a nonbo- an escaped and naturalized native to the tanist might have that this species is indeed a central and southern Appalachian Moun- member of the . tains. Nonetheless, many people believe that The black locust is noted not only for its it was present in the original forests of the vigorous growth-young can reach state. When was black locust introduced to twenty feet in just a few years-but also for its Massachusetts? How did it become such a aggressive suckering. Early travelers and common tree in a region far to the north of its naturalists found this vegetative fecundity original range? The answers to these decep- astounding. Jean Hector Saint-Jean de Creve tively simple questions are shrouded in myth Coeur’s account of his travels in North Amer- and obscured by the inaccuracies and incom- ica ( 1786) typifies the impression made by pleteness of the historical record. Indeed, the suckering black locusts: "An ubiquity of black locust in such areas as Cape [Robinia], that was planted twenty feet from Cod reflects significant aspects of our region’s the parsonage house... sent a across the history. My questions thus shift for their cellar of the house, which penetrated the side answers to the cultural forces that led to the of a well J feet beyond, and to the depth of 155 black locust’s introduction to Massachusetts feet below the surface of the ground, insinuat- and its subsequent spread throughout our ing itself among the stones of the well.... [I]t area. I hope here to clarify the historical rec- then ... threw up a small tree." Lest his ord and to correct several commonly held contemporary readers should find this incred- misconceptions about the species’ introduc- ible, Saint-Jean de Creve Coeur provided his tion and spread. own observation from a small church along is one of the few the Hudson River in New York: arboreal species of the Pea Family () On the 17th of June, 1769, attended the service in to a found Massachusetts. Here it grows be at this church, and being obliged to remain for a tree of medium height, usually less than fifty short time in the neighborhood, it so occurred feet (15 m) tall; I have seen trees over eighty that two Sundays afterwards I again repaired to feet (25 m) high in its native range in the Great this place of worship; and I never was more aston- Smoky Mountains of North Carolina and ished, than when, on opening the door, I perceived a young acacia [Robinia], which, in this short in- Tennessee. Its are compound, usually terval, had forced its way through the floor and of seven to nineteen leaflets. Its consisting had grown to the height of four feet. This tree was , borne in June in the Boston area, are the sucker from a root ... 49 feet long. 53

Modern black locusts are no less vigorous; frequently recommended it [Robinia trenails] the asphalt sidewalk in front of my Arbore- ... but all to no purpose, till about 20 years ago tum residence is plagued by Robinia suckers [the 1760s] when I was settled in trade at from a tree situated a good thirty feet away. Rhode Island, I persuaded some ship-builders to try the experiment: but, notwithstanding Resistance to Decay all my endeavours, the use of locust tree-nails Of great importance to colonists to the south still continued to be little practiced or of Massachusetts was the soon-discovered known, till it happened to be adopted by a resistance of Robinia pseudoacacia to builder of some eminence at New York, and decay. The naturalist Mark Catesby ( 1767/, as of late years has been introduced into general well as Saint-Jean de Creve Coeur (1786), use there, and in some parts of New England: comments on the high esteem in which the but, as yet, the use of the locust-tree in ship- wood was held by Americans farmers for this building is confined to the article of tree-nails reason. Robinia wood was prized for fence- on account of its scarcity...." The major use posts and construction timber in contact with the ground. It was also noticed that Robinia would colonize poor, dry soils, thus giving farmers marketable timber from otherwise marginal land. [This is due in part to the -fixing ability of symbiotic in the root nodules of Robinia, a common in the Pea family.] The value of Robinia wood in the early 1800s was demonstrated by Michaux, who noted (quoted in Withers, 1842) that "[Robinia is] allowed to remain standing in the newly cleared lands, because the inhabitants can never have enough of the wood...." Agricultural use turned out to be only one facet in the development of a market for Robinia wood. Withers’ friend Joseph Harri- son, in a letter of 1782 (printed in Withers, 1842), recalled from firsthand experience the trials of Robinia in American shipbuilding "about 1733." Robinia wood was used for trenails /pegs used to fasten planks to a ship’s frame), instead of iron, with great success. "When unloaded she [the ship] was hauled ashore upon the bank in order to be searched both outside and inside, when, on the strict- est examination, it was found the locust tree- nails, that had been substituted instead of Robiniapseudoacaciain wmter. This tree (growingg iron bolts, seemed, to all appearance, to have in was feet tall; its answered the intended. Czechoslovakia) sixty-three effectually purpose trunk was nearly fifteen feet in circumference. ..." This development did not, according to Photograph (dating from 1905) from the Archives Harrison, spread quickly in shipbuilding. "I of the Arnold Arboretum. 54 1

of Robinia trenails in shipbuilding produced the , but nothing so big," and he observed a significant market. By 1819, Philadelphia that the Indians used it to make bows. alone annually exported over one hundred Strachey’s observation has been taken to be thousand Robinia trenails for ship construc- one of the earliest records of black locust tion. (Sargent, 1892), but it could also refer to the Several clues have about the introduction redbud, canadensis L. While Robinia and naturalization of Robinia pseudoacacia was found at the time of the establishment of in New England have come to light: durable the southern colonies, what of Massachu- wood useful in shipbuilding and agriculture, setts ? Here we come to the second myth. rapid growth of young trees even on poor soils, and clonal growth of groves from initial Apparent Source of the Error plantings. Include the the aesthetic attrac- A statement in the seventh edition of Philip tion of fragrant blooms and one has the Miller’s authoritative Gardeners Dictionary makings of a tree popular in a rural, maritimee (1756-1759) appears to be the original incor- economy. rect citation of the "fact" that Robinia wood The first myth (and an entrenched one at was used in the first buildings of Boston, a that) concerns the initial source of Robinia "fact" that quickly found its way into the pseudoacacia. Linnaeus, the great Swedish European botanical literature. (See, for ex- botanist, named the Robinia in honor ample, the citation of Jose Quer, 1762, in of Jean Robin ( 1550-1629/, a major botanist at Austrich, 1987.) The statement in the the Jardin des Plantes in Paris. Robin is usu- Gardener’s Dictionary is: ally credited with introducing of This Sort to a Size in Robinia to France from Canada in 1600 or grows very large America, where the Wood is much valued for its 1601. A Canadian source at this time Duration; the which were built in in would that Robinia could mo f t of Hou f es Bo f ton certainly imply New England, upon the firft Settling of the well have been native in New too. England, Englifh, was with this Timber, which continues However, Charles Sprague Sargent (1892) very found at this Time. reiterated the claim that it was the son of Jean Robin, the botanist Vespasian Robin As this in the only reference I have found to an (1579-1662), who introduced the to original presence of Robinia in Massachu- Paris in 1636, and this without a definite setts at the time of settlement (other than the source. In this case, which I take to be correct possibility that it could have been here if the (remember that Linnaeus was writing over a species had been introduced from Canada century after the latter date), the error in around 1601), the veracity of this "fact" citing a Canadian source for the original (written over a century after the settlement of French introduction has little bearing on our Boston) must be evaluated critically. I have quest. found no evidence to support the statement Early American records can be divided into but have found numerous cases that cast two groups: those that note a peculiar new severe doubt upon it. tree that can be identified as Robinia and Massachusetts is fortunate that its early those that make no note of a tree with any settlers were literate and left written records, combination of its distinguishing character- including notes of new plants. John Josselyn’s istics (floral fragrance, woody pods, durable NewEngland’s Rarities Discovered in Birds, lumber, rapid growth, and clonal ). Wil- Beasts, Fishes, Serpents, and Plants of that liam Strachey (quoted in Sargent, 1892) saw Country (1672) has sections on "Plants as are during his journey into Virginia in 1610 "a proper to the Country" and "Of such plants as " kynd of low tree, which beares a cod like to are proper to the country, and have no name." 55

Here, for many pages, are featured such nov- naturally in the northern part of the Middle elties as pitcher-plants under the name of States.... It does not grow spontaneously "Hollow Leaved Lavender," Indian , near the sea-coast, even in the Southern squashes, sumach, hemlock trees, pitch trees States."" (here meaning Abies), larch trees, "cran ," pyrola, a "hellibore" with the note Escape and Naturalization "the whole plant scents as strong as a fox" Note the gap in time from the earliest colo- (skunk cabbage to us), plus a weirdly fanciful nial records of New England, in which black sketch that seems to have more to do with locust is not mentioned, to the botanical Ezekiel’s vision of wheels-in-wheels than writings of the late 1700s and early to mid- anything truly terrestrial. Nothing like a 1800s, in which Robinia pseudoacacia is de- Robinia is mentioned, figured, or described. scribed as naturalized. A major development Josselyn also authored his Voyages, or ac- in the Robinia story occurred in this period. counts of his sea voyages to and adventures in First was the destruction of the original for- New England. Published in 1675, it has only ests in Massachusetts (and the other colonies) one possible reference to an unknown tree as the colonists changed the forested territory that might be a Robinia: "The Line-tree with to settled farm and pasturelands. New Eng- long nuts, the other kind I could never find." land is probably more forested at present (the William Wood’s propagandistic New- 1980s) than at any time since the arrival of the England’s Prospect ( 1634) also lacks any ref- colonists, thus it is easy for us to forget that erence to a tree with the characteristics of a much of the arable land of the state was Robinia. practically clearcut. In addition, grazing was The botanical explorers and writers of the a component of agricultural settlement and late 1700s and early to mid-1800s leave little much additional land, including parts of Cape room to believe that Robinia pseudoacacia Cod and the islands, was further stressed by was ever native to Massachusetts. The Rev. this factor. Second, various attempts were Manasseh Cutler’s Account (1785) described made to reforest some of the abused land and the species as native to "southern states- exotic species were certainly tried. Evidence only cultivated here." Fran~ois Michaux of more recent trials can be seen in the early (cited in Withers, 1842) categorically states ecological literature, as where an old private that the tree did not grow naturally in any reforestation at Hole was evaluated state east of the Delaware River, trees in those (Chrysler, 1905/. The condition of this prop- areas having been planted. Daniel Browne erty in 1850-essentially deforested-was (1832) reiterated Michaux’s statement and undoubtedly a widespread condition and was noted that the wood was not much used in anything but new. construction except to support the sills- The reforestation of New England oc- further evidence that Miller’s source was curred primarily through the natural forces of incorrect. Torrey’s Flora of the State of New forest succession on abandoned farms and York (1843) described the tree as "not indige- pastures. Black locust probably became lo- nous in any part of the State .... [A]lmost cally common by escaping from cultivation naturalized in many places." Finally, George once it had been planted. Saint-Jean de Creve B. Emerson’s Report on the Trees and Coeur’s account ( 1786) of the rapid spread of Growing Naturally in the Forests of Massa- Robinia pseudoacacia in the colonies focuses chusetts / 1846/ concisely claimed that on all the critical points of human interest for "[Robinia] is not known to be, nor is it gener- growing the tree: the fragrance of its flowers, ally considered, a native of the State or of New the durability of its wood, and the rapidity England; and it is doubtful whether it grew with which it grew vegetatively, even on poor 5G .

Specimen of Robinia pseudoacacia in the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, planted in 1762 by Princess Augusta of Wales. Photograph by and courtesy of Istvkn Rbcz. soils. Saint-Jean de Creve Coeur recounts the dence, and in the vicinity of Boston, that I have development of nurseries for the production particularly noticed the good effects of these plan- of , and the establishment of robinias tations. In several places there were formerly moveable sands [that] by means of inclosures of on New on a scale. Long Island, York, major , and by planting a great number of trees in He does not overlook New England: different ways, these moveable sands have been fixed. It has been already observed, that the Americans plant the acacia [Robinia], with the view of melio- He also notes the tendency of Americans to such and defective as in- rating poor soils, they use black locusts as shade trees near watering tend to under for a series of as put crop, years; and, and to hold firm river banks. the woods annually diminish in the inhabited spots, eroding Black locust must have been introduced to parts of the country, it is no uncommon thing to see the old forests replaced by plantations of Massachusetts by the mid-1700s (Catesby, acacias. It is in Long Island, New Jersey, Provi- 1767, recorded it as "very numerous in most 57

of our northern colonies"), the introduction References having been driven by the overlapping forces Austrich, Ricardo R. 1987. El Real Jardin Bot£nico de Madrid and the glorious history of in of strong demand for the wood in both agricul- Arnoldia, Volume 4 7, Number 3, pages tural and marine the Spain. markets, by then-ongo- 2 to 24. (Quer is quoted on page 7.) ing destruction of the original forests, and by Browne, Daniel J. 1832. The Sylva Americana. Boston: the consequent need for a fast-growing tree W. Hyde and Company. 296 pages. capable of tolerating marginal agricultural Catesby, Mark. 1767. Hortus Europx Americanus. Lon- land. Robinia pseudoacacia fit all these don : J. Millan. 41 pages. Mintin A. 1905. Reforestation at Woods needs. Since the is once Chrysler, Hole, species semi-weedy, Massachusetts.-A study in succession. Rho- it was established within a it was region only dora, Volume 7, Number 75, pages 121 to 129. a matter of time before naturalized popula- Cobbett, William. 1828. A Year’s Residence in the tions became permanent and the species of America. Third edition. spread as a part of the secondary woodlands London: B. Bensley. 370 pages. on disturbed and abandoned sites. Cutler, Rev. Manasseh. 1785. An account of some of the in The Robinia craze in the United States vegetable productions, naturally growing this of witnessed de Creve Coeur was part America, botanically arranged. by Saint-Jean Memoirs of the American Academy of Arts thwarted the of a ultimately by presence and Sciences, Volume 1, pages 396 to 493. stunt native borer. The borers individ- Emerson, George B. 1846. A Report on the Trees and ual trees, and greatly reduce the commercial Shrubs Growing Naturally in the Forests of quality of the wood. Sargent (1892) consid- Massachusetts. Boston: Dutton & Went- ered only the borers to prevent Robinia worth. 547 pages. 1672. Ramties Discov- pseudoacacia from one of the most im- Josselyn, John. New-England’s being ered. London: G. Widdowes. 169 timber trees in North America. A pages. (Re- portant printed in 1865 by W. Veazie, Boston.)( Robinia craze in significant swept the Miller, Philip. 1756-1759. The Gardeners Dictzonary. early 1800s, aided in good part to the horticul- Seventh edition. London: The author. Unpagi- tural phenomenon in the person of one Mr. nated. William Cobbett. Between 1817 and 1819 he Saint-Jean de Creve Coeur, Jean Hector. 1786. Memoire managed a farm on Long Island, New York. sur la culture & les usages du faux Acacia dans He became enthralled with "especially the les ~,tats-Unis de 1’Amerique septentrionale. Memoires d Agziculture (Pans], pages 122 to or in Flowering Locust, Acacia, which, my 143. (Bound separate in the Arnold Arbore- opinion, surpasses all other trees, and some of tum/Gray Herbarium library. Also translated which, in this Island, are of very great height in Withers, 1842 [below].) and beauty" (Cobbett, 1828). Upon his return Sargent, Charles Sprague. 1892. The Silva of North to Europe, he established a nursery and is America. Volume 3, Anacardiacex-Legu supposed to have sold more than one million minosx. Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin and 141 Robinia seeds and that leads to another Company. pages (Robinia, trees; 37 to in horticultural pages 42). chapter history. Withers, William. 1842. The Acacia Tree. London: Long- is an craze There irony here. One Robinia man. 411 pages. fed another, and both ended with Robinia A compendium of all articles about Robima pseudoacacia naturalized far pseudoacacia that were known to Wtthers. permanently Included are extracts from articles in many beyond its homeland the central and south- translated mto English ern . Robinia’s natu- Wood, William. 1634. New Englands Prospect. London: ralization has been so convincing that I have Thomas Cotes. 131 pages. (Reprinted in 1865 been assured-incorrectly-that the exten- by John Wilson & Son, Boston.) sive groves of Robinia on Cape Cod most certainly are not artifacts of European settle- David C. Michener directs the Arnold Arboretum’s ment. Living Collections Verification Project.