The Champion Black Locust of Highland Park

Two of Pittsburgh's champion trees stand about a hundred metres apart in Highland Park, and they could hardly be less alike. One is a ginkgo from China. This one is a black locust, a native of the eastern United States, and in March 2024 the city's Shade Tree Commission named it a Pittsburgh Champion, the commission's own category for the largest tree of a species on public property. Black locust is a tough, fast-growing member of the pea family. Its roots fix their own nitrogen, so it thrives on poor ground, and its timber resists rot so well that it has long been split into fence posts. The bark runs in deep, rope-like ridges, and the twigs carry short paired thorns. Its moment comes at the turn of May and June, when the crown hangs with clusters of white pea flowers, heavily scented, for about a fortnight. Stand under it then and you will smell it before you see it. Two honest cautions. The pin is approximate: black locusts are common and look much alike, and the city's map places this one near the reservoir rather than at a marked spot. Trees on the Highland Park Reservoir embankment have also been the subject of a removal dispute under state dam-safety rules; nothing ties this tree to it, but if you find it gone, tell us. No age, girth or height has been published.