Tree Species - Black Locust Traditional Cache
Tree Species - Black Locust
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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I am placing this series to help you identify the different tree varieties. The cache is hidden in the crotch of the tree being identified.
Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia), one of the most common North American trees, sometimes called yellow locust, grows naturally on a wide range of sites but does best on rich moist limestone soils. It has escaped cultivation and become naturalized throughout eastern North America and parts of the West.
Black locust is a legume with root nodes that, along with bacteria, "fixes" atmospheric nitrogen into the soil. These soil nitrates are usable by other plants. Most legumes have pea-like flowers with distinctive seed pods. Black locust is native to the Ozarks and the southern Appalachians but have been transplanted in many northeastern states and Europe. The tree has become a pest in areas outside its natural range. You are encouraged to plant the tree with caution. Read more on Invasive Exotic Trees.
Black locust has a disjunct original range, the extent of which is not accurately known. The eastern section is centered in the Appalachian Mountains and ranges from central Pennsylvania and southern Ohio, south to northeastern Alabama, northern Georgia, and northwestern South Carolina. The western section includes the Ozark Plateau of southern Missouri, northern Arkansas, and northeastern Oklahoma, and the Ouachita Mountains of central Arkansas and southeastern Oklahoma. Outlying populations appear in southern Indiana and Illinois, Kentucky, Alabama, and Georgia
Leaves: alternate, odd-pinnately compound with 7 to 19 leaflets, 8 to 14 inches long. Leaflets are oval, one inch long, with entire margins. Leaves resemble sprigs of grapes; green above and paler below.
Twigs: often two stipular thorns at a node.
Bark: thick, reddish brown and deeply furrowed.
Fruit: a dark, thin pod
The cache container is a large 2½ - 3 gal? cheese puff container painted in camo colors. It contains lots of different swag for young & old to choose from. Please be sure to put the cover back on tightly to keep water out.
To get to the cache, from the parking coordinates, follow along the grass West, North West. There are lots and lots of thorns, but if you're lucky enough, you will find the path with the least amount of thorns and get through without a scratch. It's just a short 20 foot bushwack to the cache through the brush. I find it a bit ironic that a tree that bears thorns is surrounded by lots of brush with thorns. There may or may not be ticks in the area. I did not find any on me after placing the cache, but hey, you never know. Make sure to check yourself!
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