Robinia hispida
Robinia hispida, known as the bristly locust, rose-acacia, or moss locust, is a shrub in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae. It is native to the southeastern United States, and it is present in other areas, including other regions of North America, as an introduced species. It is grown as an ornamental and can escape cultivation and grow in the wild.
Description
This deciduous shrub grows to 3 meters tall, often with glandular, bristly stems. The leaves are pinnate with up to 13 leaflets. The pink or purplish pealike flowers are borne in hanging racemes of up to 5. The fruit is a flat pod. The variety of this species, called ambatch which is found in Cuba, has notably low density wood, about ; about one-third the density of balsa wood.Ethnobotany
The Cherokee had several uses for the plant. They used the root medicinally for toothache. They fed an infusion of the plant to cows as a tonic. The wood was useful for making fences, bows, and blowgun darts, and for building houses.Subtaxa
There are at least 5 varieties:- Robinia hispida var. fertilis - Arnot bristly locust
- Robinia hispida var. hispida - Common bristly locust
- Robinia hispida var. kelseyi - Kelsey's locust
- Robinia hispida var. nana - Dwarf bristly locust
- Robinia hispida var. rosea - Boynton's locust