Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Fabids: Fabales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Robinia viscosa
FAMILY
Fabaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Learn more about Clammy Locust from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
Extrafloral nectaries, nectar-producing glands physically apart from the flower, occur in 2000+ plant species, including Robinia. Read more at UF/IFAS Extension.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Robinia viscosa var. viscosa
FAMILY
Fabaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Robinia viscosa var. viscosa
INCLUDED WITHIN Guide to the Vascular Plants of the Blue Ridge (Wofford, 1989)
Robinia viscosa
SYNONYMOUS WITH Robinia (Leguminosae: Papilionoideae) (Isely & Peabody, 1984)
Robinia viscosa var. viscosa
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 098-32-002:
Robinia viscosa FAMILY Fabaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Robinia viscosa
COMMON NAME:
Clammy Locust
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905) mtna_i_657
)
JK Marlow jkm180515_2232
May Spartanburg County SC
Roadside
)
JK Marlow jkm180515_2234
May Spartanburg County SC
Roadside
Originally a Southern & Central Appalachian endemic now widespread as an escape from cultivation, per Weakley's Flora (2022).
)
JK Marlow jkm180515_2238
May Spartanburg County SC
Roadside
Branches and peduncles with sessile or subsessile, viscid, "clammy" glands, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm180515_2246
May Spartanburg County SC
Roadside
Branches sticky to touch; var. viscosa with treelike habit & low fruit set, per Revision of the genus Robinia (Leguminosae: Papilionoideae) (Peabody, 1984).
)
JK Marlow jkm180515_2249
May Spartanburg County SC
Roadside
Usually 13-21 leaflets [vs. R. hispida usually 9-13], per Robinia (Leguminosae: Papilionoideae) (Isely & Peabody, 1984).
)
JK Marlow jkm180515_2255
May Spartanburg County SC
Roadside
)
JK Marlow jkm180515_2258
May Spartanburg County SC
Roadside
)
JK Marlow jkm180515_2259
May Spartanburg County SC
Roadside
)
JK Marlow jkm180515_2262
May Spartanburg County SC
Roadside
)
JK Marlow jkm180515_2267
May Spartanburg County SC
Roadside
COMPARE
flowers of pink-flowering Locust species
)
JK Marlow jkm180515_2270
May Spartanburg County SC
Roadside
)
Sam Pratt sbp_dscf3748
May Spartanburg County SC
Roadside
Somewhat of a mystery how these plants came to be where they are...
)
Ron Lance rwl_visc_viscosa_lf7
May? Oconee County SC
In cultivation
)
Ron Lance rwl_viscosa_var_viscosa
May?
)
Ron Lance rwl_viscosa_var_viscosa_2
May?
Leaflets glabrate above, usually persistently appressed-villous beneath, per Robinia (Leguminosae: Papilionoideae) (Isely & Peabody, 1984).
COMPARE
leaves of Locust species
)
Ron Lance rwl_viscosa_var_viscosa_3
May?
Racemes sometimes with some glandular pubescence, per Weakley's Flora (2015).
)
Ron Lance rwl_viscosa_viscosa_twig
July
)
Terry Holdsclaw tdh_robinia_viscosa
July Catawba County NC
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Robinia viscosa
FAMILY
Fabaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Robinia viscosa var. viscosa
FAMILY
Fabaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Robinia viscosa var. viscosa
INCLUDED WITHIN
Guide to the Vascular Plants of the Blue Ridge (Wofford, 1989)
Robinia viscosa
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Robinia (Leguminosae: Papilionoideae) (Isely & Peabody, 1984)
Robinia viscosa var. viscosa
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 098-32-002:
Robinia viscosa
FAMILY
Fabaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Robinia viscosa
1253
Shrub; Tree
Perennial
Habitat: Mountain forests and woodlands, roadsides, disturbed areas, rare in wild, uncommon as an escape, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Mountains of GA & NC, and to the NC Piedmont
Uncommon in NC Mountains (rare elsewhere in GA-NC-SC)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
IS THE PLANT "ARMED"?
Stems of juvenile plants usually armed with paired stipular or nodal spines
LEAVES:
Deciduous
Odd-pinnately compound: 11-27 leaflets
Mostly alternate
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Pale pink/ Whitish
(with a yellow spot on the standard)
Bilaterally symmetrical
2-lipped campanulate calyx
5-parted papilionaceous corolla
Superior ovary
FRUIT:
Summer
Legume
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- How to Recognize Shrubs (Grimm, 1966) p152
- Landscaping with Native Trees (Sternberg & Wilson, 1995) p227
- Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989) p081
- Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007) p150
- The Sibley Guide to Trees (Sibley, 2009) p128
- Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988) p075
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance) p08
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p298
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