There are over 7,000 trees in Alexandra Park and Stephen Middleton from the Friends of Alexandra Park is introducing us to some of his favourites…

Our September Tree of the Month shines even on the dullest day. This particularly striking tree is the Golden Robinia or Golden Locust (Robinia pseudoacacia ‘Frisia’) and can be found near the Doughnut statue and the children’s playground near to the Boating Lake.

The tree’s appearance is further enhanced with its pinnate leaves and rounded leaflets giving the yellow green colour at the same time a delicate and bright aspect. The tree can darken a little if the summer is particularly hot.

The golden robinia was one particular selected individual of the Black Locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) species and subsequent golden robinias have been propagated by cuttings so that they are all identical clones. The original species tree comes from the eastern United States and was the June 2021 Tree of the Month.

The golden locust cultivar was first found in an old nursery in Zwolle in the Netherlands some ninety odd years ago. It doesn’t reach the heights of the original species tree normally stopping at about 12 metres. This is a fast growing tree, but don’t expect a mass of flowers in spring as it doesn’t often put on a good floral display.

To quote the RHS (Royal Horticultural Society) website it “has the potential to become a nuisance if not managed well.” The tree has a great tendency to sucker especially after being cut down. Many years later new growth can still rise up out of the ground nearby.

The scientific name Robinia was given to the tree by Linnaeus, the great plant classifier, to commemorate the french botanist, Jean Robin who first planted the species in Europe. Pseudoacacia came from the fact that due to its leaf shape it was initially mistaken for a true acacia.