Together with many other plants, locust has been introduced to Europe from North America by J. Robin, the royal chief gardener of Paris in 1601. According to geo-historical studies, it used to be present in Europe in the tertiary period. Its rapid spread in Hungary is unparalleled in Europe. Today, 20% our forests is made up of black locust, and no other European country has as much of it as Hungary does (345,000 ha). Thus, it is no wonder that black locust is considered to be a Hungarian species in the folklore. It prefers warm climates and nutrient-rich sandy soils (its climatic requirements are close to those of grapes). Romania, Italy, France, Serbia, Bulgaria, Slovakia and the Ukraine also have large stands of black locust. Presently, black locust forest areas shows fast expansion in China and South Korea.