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- Broad-leaved woody plants
- Robinia viscosa
Robinia viscosa — clammy locust
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Facts
Clammy locust gets its common name from the sticky, glandular hairs that cover its twigs, petioles, peduncles, and seed pods. This modestly sized tree was first described by the botanist William Bartram in 1776. Clammy locust is native to the southeastern United States, but has naturalized elsewhere because it is planted for its showy pink flowers, and because it spreads rapidly by suckering.
Habitat
Anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats)
New England distribution
Adapted from BONAP data
Native: indigenous.
Non-native: introduced (intentionally or unintentionally); has become naturalized.
County documented: documented to exist in the county by evidence (herbarium specimen, photograph). Also covers those considered historical (not seen in 20 years).
State documented: documented to exist in the state, but not documented to a county within the state. Also covers those considered historical (not seen in 20 years).
Note: when native and non-native populations both exist in a county, only native status is shown on the map.
Found this plant? Take a photo and post a sighting.
Characteristics
- Habitat
- terrestrial
- New England state
-
- Connecticut
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- New Hampshire
- Rhode Island
- Vermont
- Growth form
- the plant is a shrub (i.e., a woody plant with several stems growing from the base)
- Leaf type
- the leaf blade is compound (i.e., made up of two or more discrete leaflets
- Leaves per node
- there is one leaf per node along the stem
- Leaf blade edges
- the edge of the leaf blade has no teeth or lobes
- Leaf duration
- the leaves drop off in winter (or they wither but persist on the plant)
- armature on plant
-
- the plant does not have spines, prickles, or thorns
- the plant has spines, prickles, or thorns
- Leaf blade length
- 100–200 mm
- Leaf stalk
- the leaves have leaf stalks
- Fruit type (general)
- the fruit is dry and splits open when ripe
- Bark texture
- the bark of an adult plant is thin and smooth
- Twig winter color
-
- brown
- gray
- red
- Bud scale number
- there are no scales on the winter buds
-
Buds or leaf scars
- Bud position relative to scar
- the winter bud has a leaf scar partially or completely surrounding it
- Bud scale number
- there are no scales on the winter buds
- Bud scar shape (Fraxinus)
- NA
- Collateral buds
- there are no collateral buds on the sides of the branches
- Leaf scar arrangement
- there is one leaf scar per node on the stem or twig
- Superposed buds
-
- there are no superposed buds on the branch
- there are superposed buds above the main (terminal) bud
- Winter bud stalks
- the winter buds have no stalks
-
Flowers
- Carpels fused
- the carpel is solitary or (if 2 or more) the carpels are not fused to one another
- Enlarged sterile flowers
- there are no enlarged sterile flowers on the plant
- Flower petal color
-
- pink
- red
- Flower symmetry
- there is only one way to evenly divide the flower (the flower is bilaterally symmetrical)
- Hairs on ovary (Amelanchier)
- NA
- Hypanthium present
- the flower has a hypanthium
- Inflorescence hairs
- there are hairs on some part of the inflorescence
- Inflorescence position
- the inflorescences grow on the twigs
- Inflorescence type
- the inflorescence is a raceme (a long unbranched stem with stalked flowers growing along it)
- Number of pistils
- 1
- Ovary position
- the ovary is above the point of petal and/or sepal attachment
- Petal and sepal arrangement
- the flower includes two cycles of petal- or sepal-like structures
- Petal appearance
- the petals are thin and delicate, and pigmented (colored other than green or brown)
- Petal fusion
-
- the perianth parts are fused to form a tube, cup, or bell shape
- the perianth parts are separate
- Sepal cilia (Ilex)
- NA
- Sepal tip glands
- there are no glands at the tips of the sepal lobes
- Sepals fused only to sepals
- the sepals are fused to each other (not other flower parts), at least near their bases
- Stamen number
- 10
- Stamen position relative to petals
- NA
- Stamens fused
- the stamens are fused to one another at or near their bases
-
Fruits or seeds
- Berry color
- NA
- Fruit tissue origin
-
- the hypanthium of the flower becomes part of the fruit
- there are no flower parts that form part of the fruit
- Fruit type (general)
- the fruit is dry and splits open when ripe
- Fruit type (specific)
- legume
- Nut with spines (Fagaceae)
- NA
- Wings on fruit
- there are no wings on the fruit
-
Glands or sap
- Sap color
- the sap is clear and watery
- Stalked glands on fruit (Rosa)
- NA
-
Growth form
- Growth form
- the plant is a shrub (i.e., a woody plant with several stems growing from the base)
-
Leaves
- Hairs on underside of leaf blade
- the underside of the leaf has hairs on it
- Hairs on upper side of leaf blade
- the upper side of the leaf is not hairy, or has very few hairs
- Leaf blade base shape
-
- the base of the leaf blade is cuneate (wedge-shaped, tapers to the base with relatively straight, converging edges), or narrow
- the base of the leaf blade is rounded
- Leaf blade base symmetry
-
- the leaf blade base is asymmetrical
- the leaf blade base is symmetrical
- Leaf blade bloom
- the underside of the leaf has no noticeable bloom
- Leaf blade edges
- the edge of the leaf blade has no teeth or lobes
- Leaf blade edges (Acer)
- NA
- Leaf blade flatness
- the leaf is flat (planar) at the edges
- Leaf blade hairs
- the hairs on the leaf blade are different from the choices given
- Leaf blade length
- 100–200 mm
- Leaf blade scales
- there are no scales on the leaf blades
- Leaf blade shape
-
- the leaf blade is lanceolate (lance-shaped; widest below the middle and tapering at both ends)
- the leaf blade is ovate (widest below the middle and broadly tapering at both ends)
- Leaf blade texture
- the leaf blade is herbaceous (has a leafy texture)
- Leaf blade translucent dots
- there are no translucent dots on the leaf blade
- Leaf blade vein pattern
- the main veins of the leaf blade are pinnate (the secondary veins branch off at intervals from the main central vein) and non-arcuate (not arched towards the leaf tip)
- Leaf blade veins
- the leaf blade has one main vein running from the base toward the tip
- Leaf duration
- the leaves drop off in winter (or they wither but persist on the plant)
- Leaf form
- the plant is broad-leaved (with broadly flattened leaf blades)
- Leaf lobe tips (Quercus)
- NA
- Leaf midrib glands
- the midrib of the leaf blade lacks glands on the upper surface
- Leaf stalk
- the leaves have leaf stalks
- Leaf stalk attachment to leaf
- the petiole attaches at the basal margin of the leaf blade
- Leaf stalk nectaries
- there are no nectaries on the leaf stalk
- Leaf stalk shape
- the leaf stalk is not flattened
- Leaf teeth
- the edge of the leaf blade is entire (has no teeth or lobes)
- Leaf teeth hairs (Carya)
- NA
- Leaf type
- the leaf blade is compound (i.e., made up of two or more discrete leaflets
- Leaves per node
- there is one leaf per node along the stem
- Specific leaf type
- the leaf is compound, with a single terminal leaflet and more than two additional leaflets
- Stipules
- the plant has stipules
-
Place
- Habitat
- terrestrial
- New England state
-
- Connecticut
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- New Hampshire
- Rhode Island
- Vermont
- Specific habitat
- man-made or disturbed habitats
-
Scent
- Plant odor
- the plant does not have much of an odor, or it has an unpleasant or repellant odor
-
Stem, shoot, branch
- Aerial roots
- the plant has no aerial roots
- Bark texture
- the bark of an adult plant is thin and smooth
- Branch brittleness (willows only)
- NA
- Branch cross-section
- the branch is circular in cross-section, or it has five or more sides, so that there are no sharp angles
- First-year cane (Rubus)
- NA
- Lenticels on twigs
- there are no lenticels on the twigs, or they are very hard to see
- Pith shape
- the outline of the pith in a twig is roughly round
- Short shoots
- there are no peg- or knob-like shoots present
- Twig bloom
- there is no bloom on the twig
- Twig hairs
- the twigs have hairs with glands at their tips
- Twig papillae (Vaccinium species only)
- NA
- Twig scales
- there are no scales on the twig surface
- Twig winter color
-
- brown
- gray
- red
- Wings on branch
- the branch does not have wings on it
- armature on plant
-
- the plant does not have spines, prickles, or thorns
- the plant has spines, prickles, or thorns
Wetland status
Not classified
In New England
Distribution
- Connecticut
- present
- Maine
- present
- Massachusetts
- present
- New Hampshire
- present
- Rhode Island
- present
- Vermont
- present
Conservation status
Exact status definitions can vary from state to state. For details, please check with your state.
var. viscosa
- Massachusetts
- not applicable (S-rank: SNA)
- Vermont
- not applicable (S-rank: SNA)
Subspecies and varieties
Our variety is Robinia viscosa Vent. var. viscosa.
From Flora Novae Angliae dichotomous key
3. Robinia viscosa Vent. var. viscosa E
clammy locust. CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT. Roadsides, abandoned homesteads.
Native to North America?
Yes
Sometimes confused with
- Robinia hispida:
- leaves with 7-13 leaflets and glands on branchlets borne on evident bristles (vs. R. viscosa, with leaves with 13-25 leaflets and glands on branchlets unstalked or nearly so).