| Actual Image
Sweet Pretender (32)
Silke
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 727 W: 98 N: 1694]](http://i1.treknature.com/misc/g-g-g.gif) (5406) | I could not resist adding a spring image to my gallery just as we are seeing the first lovely images of the fall. I have fond memories to go with this image, memories of a few days spent exploring a new country completely on my own, with weather that cooperated beautifully.:D
And thank you to Krzysztof Pabis for providing me with the ID here.
This is a close-up of the flowers of a tree that is naturalised in Alsace, having ironically originated from just a little south of me on the North American continent. It is known as the False Acacia Robinia pseudoacacia. But sweet it is nonetheless, for it is the source of the renowned acacia monofloral honey from France.
According to wiki: "The wood is extremely hard, resistant to rot and long lasting, making it prized for fence posts and small watercraft. As a young man, Abraham Lincoln spent a lot of time splitting rails and fence posts from black locust logs."
Another interesting fact is that it is (according to Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Fact sheets http:osufacts.okstate.edu) "unsurpassed as firewood for wood stoves; it burns slowly, with little visible flame or smoke, and has a higher heat content than any other wood that grows in the Eastern US, comparable to the heat content of anthracite."
Another curious fact about this tree comes from a lady I met on the train that day(I love talking to strangers). She told me that her boyfriend, an experienced forester, picks these flowers in the woods (this is a naturalised tree, not a cultivated one), rolls them in a light batter and fries them up for a delicately flavoured dessert!
Tech: composed in camera, resized for TN, sharpened, added frame and signature
Thanks to everyone for looking and for trying to help me track down the ID |
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