Honey Locust

Honey locusts, Gleditsia triacanthos, can reach a height of 66–100 ft with fast growth and are relatively short-lived; their life spans are typically about 120 years, however some live up to 150 years. They are prone to losing large branches in windstorms because of the hard, brittle wood. Honey locusts commonly have thorns 1–4 in long growing out of the branches, some reaching lengths over 8 in; these may be single, or branched into several points, and commonly form dense clusters. The thorns are fairly soft and green when young, harden and turn red as they age, then fade to ash grey and turn brittle when mature. The thorn clusters look and are quite formidable when one needs to prune or manage this tree.

The leaves are pinnately compound on older trees but bipinnately compound on vigorous young trees. The leaflets are 1.5–2.5 cm (smaller on bipinnate leaves) and bright green. They turn yellow in the fall (autumn). Leafs out relatively late in spring, but generally slightly earlier than the black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia).

The strongly scented cream-colored flowers appear in late spring, in clusters emerging from the base of the leaf axils.

The fruit of the Honey locust is a flat legume (pod) that matures in early autumn. The pods are generally between 6–12 in long. The seeds can be dispersed by grazing herbivores such as cattle and horses, which eat the pod pulp and excrete the seeds in droppings; the animal’s digestive system assists in breaking down the hard seed coat, making germination easier.

The pulp on the insides of the pods is edible, unlike the Black locust, which is toxic. The name derives not from true honey but from the sweet taste of the legume pulp, which was used for food by Native American people, and can also be fermented to make beer.

The foot-long leathery fruits–produced in huge numbers by mature Honeylocusts–often litter the ground beneath and provide an autumn bonanza for hungry squirrels, deer, fox, crows, and quail. From the outside, the purple-black pods show bumps (above) that correspond with individual peas within. The peas are protein-rich (up to 13% by weight), and the pulp that surrounds them may contain 40% carbohydrates.