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Robinia neomexicana (New Mexico Locust) Semi-desert, foothills.
Meadows, streamsides, lawns. Summer. Robinia neomexicana is quite common in New Mexico and Arizona, and makes a few showy incursions into Colorado. The tree is often planted as an ornamental on lawns and, as here shown, along highways. It is fairly drought resistant, produces masses of pink-to-purple flowers, and grows to a maximum of about 25 feet. The calyces, as the last photograph in the series at left shows, are quite hairy and exotic looking. The Robinia genus was named by Linnaeus for Jean Robin, 1550-1629, botanist and herbalist to Henry III, Henry IV, and Louis XIII of France. Robin was the first to cultivate this genus, specifically, R. pseudoacacia, Black Locust, in Europe. (Click for more information about Robin). Robinia neomexicana was first collected for science by G.T. Thurber in 1851 and Asa Gray named and described it in 1855. |
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Robinia neomexicana (New Mexico Locust) Semi-desert, foothills.
Meadows, streamsides, lawns. Summer. Pods are quite hairy and 2-4 inches long. Pods and even the seeds persist; those shown at left were from 2012. |
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Robinia neomexicana (New Mexico Locust) Semi-desert, foothills.
Meadows, streamsides, lawns. Summer. Leaves are divided into oblong leaflets with two spines at the base of the entire leaf. Bark is vertically furrowed and light gray. Multiple trunks are common, but on lawns the tree is often pruned to a single trunk. |
Range map © John Kartesz,
County Color Key
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Range map for Robinia neomexicana |
Species present in state and native
Species present in state and exotic
Species not present in state
Species present and not rare
Species present and rare
Species extirpated (historic)
Species extinct
Species noxious
Species exotic and present
Eradicated
Questionable presence