Excerpt:
 A widely planted reclamation species, Black Locust is a dynamic accumulator loved by permaculture designers for their ability to draw up nutrients from the depths of the soil into their many pinnately compound leaves.  When released in autumn, their nutrients are then given to the top layer of soil benefiting other beings.  By this same process they can ameliorate the problem of nitrogen deficiency in soils caused by current agricultural practices by accumulating nitrogen from the atmosphere and storing it in their bodies to use for themselves and then release into the soil for their neighbors.  Younger branches have spines or protective sharp thorns, but as they mature, those thorns are replaced by tough bark. Between their wood being impervious to rot, their sharp spines, and their aggressive root suckers, they are impolite and resistant.