Family: FABACEAE/PAPILIONACEAE
A fast growing, nitrogen fixing legume to 25 m and living for up to 200 years. A native of the Appalachian and Ozark mountains of the United States.
The foliage is readily eaten by livestock and the seed is suitable as a poultry feed. It is a good source of nectar, producing a honey regarded as one of the finest in the world.
The timber is hard, heavy, durable, strong and very rot resistant. It is used extensively for round, hewn or split mine timbers and for fence posts, poles, railway sleepers, stakes and electrical insulator pegs.
The tree is commonly planted for erosion control, shelter belts, fodder and wildlife habitat. It coppices well and is a very good firewood which is slow to ignite but burns like coal. It is well suited to charcoal production. The plant can be a pest because of its suckering habit and thorns and should be planned into a system where it can be confined by livestock. Non - suckering cultivars are, however, available.