Can you eat Locust Beans?

[reed]

A recent post about raised beds got me thinking about eating the beans from some wild trees that grow around here and over a large area of the US. They are Black Locust and Honey Locust. I read a long time ago in the Fox Fire books about the old ways in Appalachia that said you could eat Black Locust flowers  but I was chicken to do it. A few years ago I took the risk and they are great. Since then we have eaten plates full of them will no ill effects. I have just barely tasted the green bean pods and they taste a little like peas but also a little bitter. 
The other tree is Honey Locust. It's pods have a sweet goo inside. Last fall I ate most of this goo out of one pod and am still here. It might be good in coffee or maybe thin it down and use it for syrup. 
I don't know about nutrition but the Black Locust flowers are great. I farm these trees for posts, firewood and flowers. I have searched the internet and asked the local Purdue University Ag people but can't find info on if the actual pods and beans are safe. I haven't tried the Honey Locust flowers but think I might.
Does anyone know if its OK to eat these beans?

[philagardener]

Aug 29, 2014 5:30:04 GMT -5 reed said:

A recent post about raised beds got me thinking about eating the beans from some wild trees that grow around here and over a large area of the US. They are Black Locust and Honey Locust. I read a long time ago in the Fox Fire books about the old ways in Appalachia that said you could eat Black Locust flowers  but I was chicken to do it. A few years ago I took the risk and they are great. Since then we have eaten plates full of them will no ill effects. I have just barely tasted the green bean pods and they taste a little like peas but also a little bitter. 
The other tree is Honey Locust. It's pods have a sweet goo inside. Last fall I ate most of this goo out of one pod and am still here. It might be good in coffee or maybe thin it down and use it for syrup. 
I don't know about nutrition but the Black Locust flowers are great. I farm these trees for posts, firewood and flowers. I have searched the internet and asked the local Purdue University Ag people but can't find info on if the actual pods and beans are safe. I haven't tried the Honey Locust flowers but think I might.
Does anyone know if its OK to eat these beans?

I know that bee keepers are thrilled when locusts are flowering because the honey is fabulous.  I suspect you are getting some nectar along with those flowers too.

There is a related woody legume called the Kentucky Coffeetree (Gymnocladus dioicus).  It is a vigorous, very large-growing and beautiful tree native to the Northeastern/Central US.  Male and female flowers occur on different plants (hence the species' epithet dioicus) and it has a nice fragrance when in bloom.  Like Locusts, the trees produce a lot of debris (flower drop in the Spring, leaf material in the Fall) but is a nice plant in the landscape and appears to have few pests.

It was reputedly used by first peoples and European settlers for a variety of uses, including a coffee-substitute beverage made from roasted and ground seeds.  The seeds are large (dime sized and thick) and easily collected in quantity (although the goo in the pods slows shelling).  The pods and seeds (as other parts of the plant) have been reported to contain toxic alkaloids that are inactivated by roasting, although the evidence is a bit murky about exactly that they contain and how toxic they might be.  I have not tried them.

I'd be happy to send a few fresh seeds to anyone interested in trying to grow this nice native tree (they are reputedly easy to germinate but benefit from nicking the seed coat), but expect it will take a while to get them to fruiting size.

[flowerweaver]

reed according to Wikipedia on the toxicity of black locust:

'Although the bark and leaves are toxic, various reports suggest that the seeds and the young pods of the black locust are edible. Shelled seeds are safe to harvest from summer through fall, and are edible both raw and/or boiled.[12] Due to the small nature of Black Locust seeds, shelling them efficiently can prove tedious and difficult. In France and in Italy Robinia pseudoacacia flowers are eaten as beignets after being coated in batter and fried in oil. [13] Important constituents of the plant are the toxalbumin robin, which loses its toxicity when heated and robinin, a non-toxic glucoside.[14] Horses that consume the plant show signs of anorexia, depression, incontinence, colic, weakness, and cardiac arrhythmia. Symptoms usually occur about 1 hour following consumption, and immediate veterinary attention is required.'

and on the honey locust:
'The pulp on the insides of the pods is edible, unlike the black locust, which is toxic.'