Tree Description:
A small tree to 20 feet tall and a trunk to 12" in diameter, occasionally larger, with an open, airy crown of light green foliage. Used increasingly as a landscape tree for its pink flowers and black, bead-like fruits.
Range/Site Description:
Stream corridors, moist areas, fencerows, and rights-of-way in Central Texas, mostly on limestone soils.
Leaf:
Branches, twigs, and leaves without thorns or prickles; leaves are once-compound, alternate, 6" to 9" long, with 13 to 19 oval or elliptical leaflets, each 0.75" to 1.5" long and 0.5" wide, with a smooth margin.
Flower:
Borne in drooping clusters 3" to 6" long of white to pink, pea-like flowers, each about 0.5" long.
Fruit:
A slender string of shiny, black beads, from 2" to 4" long, on a stalk 2" long, with narrow constrictions between the seeds, giving the tree it's common name, Eve's-necklace.
Bark:
Twigs are green to orange-brown and the bark develops into thin, gray-brown scales and furrows on older trunks.
Wood:
Very hard, light red in color, with a thick, bright yellow sapwood; no commercial importance. Sold in the nursery trade as a landscape tree.
Similar Species:
Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) has more rounded, oval leaflets and sharp thorns at the base of each leaf.
Interesting Facts:
In dense shade, this tree acts more like a climbing vine and can be difficult to identify
