Bristly Locust

A friend of mine had this bush growing in his yard. He said it sprouted next to where he piles loads of compost. The leaves have 11 to 13 leaflets each, and the young stems have pliable thorns all around. Can you tell me what it is?

A member of the pea family this shrub is commonly known as Bristly or Roseacacia Locust (Robinia hispida). The suckering shrub is hardy in zones 5 to 8 and tolerant of a wide range of soils including dry and gravelly conditions. Use this suckering shrub to stabilize a bank or form an impenetrable thicket. The cultivar ‘Flowering Globe’ is a hybrid grafted onto black locust to create a small tree.

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