Locust tree

{{One source|date=August 2022}} '''Locust tree''' can mean:

* Any of a number of tree species in the genera ''Gleditsia'' or ''Robinia'', including: ** Honey locust (''Gleditsia triacanthos''), a leguminous tree with pods having a sweet, edible pulp ** Black locust (''Robinia pseudoacacia''), a leguminous tree with toxic pods ** Water locust (''Gleditsia aquatica''), a leguminous tree with one seed per pod * Less commonly, "African locust bean tree" (''Parkia biglobosa''), which is also known as néré * Also not commonly, the carob tree, ''Ceratonia siliqua'', whose pods are called ''locust beans''

== Etymology == "Locust" comes from the Latin ''locusta'', meaning both "locust" (the insect) and "lobster". By analogy with a Levantine use of the Greek word for the insect, ''akris'', for the pods of the carob tree, which supposedly resembled it, the pod-bearing North American tree started to be called "locust" in the 1630s.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |editor-last=Harper |editor-first=Douglas |title=locust (n.2) |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/locust#etymonline_v_12381 |encyclopedia=Online Etymology Dictionary |access-date=24 March 2021}}</ref>

== References == {{Reflist}}