Robinia Pseudoacacia - Uses

Uses

The wood is extremely hard, resistant to rot and durable, making it prized for furniture, flooring, paneling, fence posts and small watercraft. Wet, newly-cut planks have an offensive odour which disappears with seasoning. As a young man, Abraham Lincoln spent much of his time splitting rails and fence posts from black locust logs. Flavonoids in the heartwood allow the wood to last over 100 years in soil. In the Netherlands and some other parts of Europe, black locust is one of the most rot-resistant local trees, and projects have started to limit the use of tropical wood by promoting this tree and creating plantations. It is one of the heaviest and hardest woods in North America.

Black Locust is highly valued as firewood for wood-burning stoves; it burns slowly, with little visible flame or smoke, and has a higher heat content than any other species that grows widely in the Eastern United States, comparable to the heat content of anthracite. It is most easily ignited by insertion into a hot stove with an established coal bed. For best results it should be seasoned like any other hardwood, however black locust is also popular because of its ability to burn even when wet. In fireplaces it can be less satisfactory because knots and beetle damage make the wood prone to "spitting" coals for distances of up to several feet. If the Black Locust is cut, split, and cured while relatively young (within ten years), thus minimizing beetle damage, "spitting" problems are minimal.

It is also planted for firewood because it grows rapidly, is highly resilient in a variety of soils, and it grows back even faster from its stump after harvest by using the existing root system. (see coppicing)

With fertilizer prices rising, the importance of black locust as a nitrogen-fixing species is also noteworthy. The mass application of fertilizers in agriculture and forestry is increasingly expensive; therefore nitrogen-fixing tree and shrub species are gaining importance in managed forestry.