Lo"cust tree` (?). [Etymol. uncertain.] Bot.
A large North American tree of the genus Robinia (R. Pseudacacia), producing large slender racemes of white, fragrant, papilionaceous flowers, and often cultivated as an ornamental tree. In England it is called acacia.
⇒ The name is also applied to other trees of different genera, especially to those of the genus Hymenaea, of which H. Courbaril is a lofty, spreading tree of South America; also to the carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua), a tree growing in the Mediterranean region.
Honey locust tree Bot., a tree of the genus Gleditschia ) G. triacanthus), having pinnate leaves and strong branching thorns; -- so called from a sweet pulp found between the seeds in the pods. Called also simply honey locust. -- Water locust tree Bot., a small swamp tree (Gleditschia monosperma), of the Southern United States.
© Webster 1913.