Yesterday I went to the neighbourhood of the ‘Concertgebouw’ to see a street called the ‘van Schuytstraat’, lined with trees that were now flowering. I didn’t know what kind of trees they were but they looked very beautiful! The whole street was packed with those trees so I became very curious what kind of trees they were.
After some research I found out that they are called Robinia or ‘valse Acacia’s’ (in dutch). It’s official name is Robinia pseudo-acacia. Robinia is referring to two doctors, Jean and Vespasian Robin, of the French king Henry the fourth. the second part of its name is derived from the fact that this tree is not belonging to the family of the acacia’s but look like it because of its sharp spines on its branches. Hence ‘pseudo-acacia’.
The tree is very strong and is being used in europe as an alternative to tropical hard wood since the European Union made import of non-sustainable planted wood illegal (since 2000).
The trunk of the tree has deep grooves, is bare and has sharp spines. The tree is flowering in may, june and july. Its flowers are white and are hanging in clusters.
In autumn long bare pods remain.
Amsterdam, the 2nd of June 2018
Sources:
-Welke boom is dat?, Joachim Mayer, Fontaine Uitgevers b.v., 2017
