A catalog of Native North American Plants: Robinia pseudoacacia

Robinia pseudoacacia

Common name: Black Locust, Post Locust, Yellow locust, Locust tree

A member of the pea family Black locust is a medium tree. It has a deeply furrowed gray bark, with zigzag branchlets that are angled and have spines at the nodes. The leaves are compound, alternate and one -pinnately with seven to nineteen oval leaflets. The leaf color of the fully grown leaves is a dull dark green above and paler beneath. In the fall the leaves turn a clear pale yellow. The flowers open in May or June for 7–10 days, after the leaves have developed. They are arranged in loose drooping clumps (racemes) which are typically 4–8 inches. The flowers themselves are cream-white. The fruit is a typical legume fruit, being a flat and smooth pea-like pod 2–4 inches. The seeds are dark orange brown with irregular markings. They ripen late in autumn and hang on the branches until early spring. The bark, leaves, and wood are toxic to both humans and livestock. The black locust is native to the eastern United States. 

Dye color: Brown, Green, Orange, Yellow

Dye source

Mordant

Process

Color

Leaves

Copper

Heat

Light olive

Leaves

Alum

Heat

Bright yellow

Leaves

Tin

Heat

Bright yellow orange

Leaves

Iron

Heat

Olive brown

Stems

Copper

Heat

Tan

Stems

Tin

Heat

Bright golden yellow

Flower

Tin

Heat

Bright golden yellow

Flower

Iron

Heat

Light khaki

 

locust

Samples: Cotton, Linen, wool, silk
Mordant: Alum
Dye : leaves 
Modifier : Rust