Leaf
Ninjatacoshell, Wikimedia · CC BY-SA 3.0
Rose acacia
Robinia hispida L.
Also known as: Bristly locust, Moss locust
Family: Fabaceae
1.5 to 2.5 m tall
Sunny beds and banks, ordinary even poor soil, suckers readily
Flowering: May – June
Full sun
Hardy to about -20°C
❓ How do you recognise this plant?
Its young twigs are bristling with stiff reddish hairs which give it its name 'hispid' — a detail that makes it easy to tell apart from the white-flowered false acacia. The false acacia is a large tree with fissured bark and fragrant white flowers in drooping clusters, whereas the rose acacia remains a low shrub with stems bristling with stiff reddish hairs and large pink flowers.
🍃 Leaves
Deciduous, compound, pinnate, with rounded bright green leaflets
🌸 Flowers
Pink to bright pink, in drooping clusters, larger than those of the false acacia
🍎 Fruits
Flattened pods covered in stiff, glandular hairs
🪵 Bark
Reddish-brown, young twigs bristling with characteristic reddish bristles
🗺️ Distribution
Native to the south-eastern United States; introduced into Europe as an ornamental spring-flowering shrub
🐝 Value for pollinators
Flowers rich in nectar, much visited by bees in spring
✂️ Horticultural uses
Planted for its clusters of pink flowers, larger and more colourful than those of the common robinia
⚠️ Possible toxicity
Seeds and bark contain toxic substances (as in the false acacia), not to be ingested
⚠️ Look-alike species
Rose acacia
Robinia hispida
Black locust
Robinia pseudoacacia
The false acacia is a large tree with fissured bark and fragrant white flowers in drooping clusters, whereas the rose acacia remains a low shrub with stems bristling with stiff reddish hairs and large pink flowers.
🌿 Other Fabaceae to discover
ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.
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