Honey Locust
Gleditsia triacanthos L.
Mature Size: 50 to 80 feet in height and 2 to 3 feet in diameter.
Form: Relatively short trunk and broad, airy crown.
Habitat: Moist bottomlands and soils of limestone origin.
Leaves
Alternate, 5 to 8 inches long, pinnately compound with 15 to 30 leaflets, or bipinnately compound with 4 to 7 pairs of minor leaflets; leaflets ½ to 1½ inches long, elliptical to oval.
Flowers
Small, greenish yellow, on 2 to 3 inch narrow, hanging clusters, not showy, but very fragrant, appearing in late spring.
Fruit
Distinctive, 6 to 8 inch, flattened, red-brown, leathery pod that becomes dry and twisted, resembling a rotten banana peel; pod contains many oval, dark brown, shiny seeds, 1/3 inch long, maturing in late summer and early fall.
Bark
Initially, gray-brown to bronze, smooth with many horizontal pores, later breaking into long, narrow, curling plates; often has clusters of large, branched thorns on trunk.
Twigs
Thick or slender, zigzag, red-brown to light brown, with many pores and branched thorns; side buds very small and sunken.
Values and Uses
The wood is coarse-grained, hard, strong and moderately resistant to decay. It is sometimes used for fence posts and crossties but is not as durable as that of black locust. Birds eat the seeds, and both wild mammals and livestock eat the large, sweet seed pods. Honeylocust is planted for erosion control and windbreaks. Thornless varieties are commonly planted in urban landscapes, where they tolerate pollution and harsh growing conditions.
Did You Know?
The species name "triacanthos" means "three spines"; however, this tree's branched spines often have many more than three points. The spines were sometimes used as pins by early settlers.
