The FLOWERS appear in small clusters of green flowers on purple pedicels in a raceme 3 to 4 inches long, and grow from the axil of the leaf rachis and twig. The flowers bloom well after the leaves are out. The FRUIT pods hang in graceful racemes. The pods are 1 inch wide and 1 to 2 inches long, thin walled, tough, papery, chestnut brown, and shiny. The SEEDS are flattened, nearly round, about ½ inch wide, and orange-brown. The WOOD is heavy, hard, strong, light reddish-brown, and surrounded by a wide band of clear yellow sapwood. BLACK LOCUST (Yellow Locust) Robinia pseudoacacia L. Black locust is not native to Texas, so far as known, but has been widely planted here and has escaped from cultivation. Black locust requires deep, well-drained, moist soil for good growth. It grows indifferently to poorly on well-drained, dry sites. Of late years it has been severely damaged by the locust borer and is no longer recommended for planting in pure stands. [Illustration: BLACK LOCUST (Leaf and fruit, one-third natural size; twig, two-thirds natural size)] The twigs and branchlets are armed with paired, straight or slightly curved, sharp, strong spines, sometimes as much as 1 inch in length, which remain attached to the outer bark for many years. The LEAVES are pinnate, or feather-like, from 6 to 10 inches long, with 7 to 19 oblong, thin leaflets. The FLOWERS are fragrant, white or cream-colored, and appear in graceful pendant racemes. The FRUIT is a pod from 3 to 5 inches long containing 4 to 8 small hard seeds which ripen late in the fall. The pod splits open during the winter, discharging most of the seeds. Some seeds usually remain attached to each half of the pod. The WOOD is yellow, coarse-grained, heavy, very hard, strong, and durable in contact with the soil. It is used extensively for fence posts, poles, tree nails, insulator pins, and occasionally for lumber and fuel. HERCULES-CLUB (Prickly-Ash) Zanthoxylum clava-herculis L. This tree is a native of East Texas and ranges westerly to the valley of the Colorado River and northward to Dallas and Tarrant Counties, and to some extent to the Rio Grande Valley. It is a small tree, seldom over 30 feet in height, with a short trunk usually under 1 foot in diameter. It seems to prefer a well-drained, light, sandy soil, and is often found growing on bluffs near rivers. [Illustration: HERCULES-CLUB (Leaf and fruit, one-half natural size; spines natural size)] The BARK is the most characteristic feature of this tree. It is gray, and with numerous corky tubercles. The aromatic inner bark, with its strong pungent juice, has given this tree a number of local names, such as “tingle-tongue”, and “toothache tree.” The inner bark was a favorite in old-time home remedies for the relief of toothache.