FABACEAE - - Legume Family

Gleditsia triacanthos Linnaeus — Honey Locust

Honey Locust (Gleditsia triacanthos) - Tree becoming 40m tall. Leaves 2-pinnate; leaflets 1-2.5cm long; blades ovate-lanceolate varying to elliptic; racemes narrow, closely-flowered; flowers green or greenish-white. Pod flat, black and lustrous, pulpy within. The trunk and branches are armed with compound thorns (or unarmed in G. triacanthos inermis). The wood, hard and durable, is used where strength is required. The tree is widely cultivated.

Habitat:

Woodlands, forests (generally bottomland), fencerows, often planted as a street tree. Native distribution is believed to be from w. NY west to se. SD, south to Panhandle FL and TX (west of the Blue Ridge); its occurrence over much of our region appears to be as an adventive. The trunks are normally beset with lengthy, branched thorns, but thornless trees are encountered (and are usually favored for horticultural planting).

Habitat information from:
Weakley, Alan S., Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States, Working Draft of 21 May 2015.

The range of Gleditsia triacanthos (Honey Locust)

Kartesz, J.T., The Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2015. North American Plant Atlas. (http://bonap.net/napa). Chapel Hill, N.C. [maps generated from Kartesz, J.T. 2015. Floristic Synthesis of North America, Version 1.0. Biota of North America Program (BONAP). (in press)].

The Georgia range of Gleditsia triacanthos (Honey Locust)

Zomlefer, W.B., J.R. Carter, & D.E. Giannasi. 2014 (and ongoing). The Atlas of Georgia Plants. University of Georgia Herbarium (Athens, Georgia) and Valdosta State University Herbarium (Valdosta, Georgia). Available at: http://www.georgiaherbaria.org/.