Honeylocust Tree Facts
The honeylocust (Gleditsia triacanthos) is a member of the legume family, related to trees such as acacia and mesquite. The honeylocust has a wide range, growing in the middle part of the United States. Honeylocust is used as a lawn tree and shade tree, but the species does come with some serious drawbacks, not the least of which is sharp thorns. Does this Spark an idea?
-
Identification
-
Honeylocust grows to between 60 and 80 feet tall, says the "National Audubon Society Field Guide to Trees," with some specimens as large as 120 feet. Honeylocust has compound leaves, made up of multiple small leaflets arranged on a stem as long as 8 inches. The leaflets give the foliage a feathery appearance and the shade the tree casts is light due to the size and arrangement of the leaves. The bell-shaped greenish-yellow flowers bloom in May and June and change into pods as long as 16 inches that contain the bean-like seeds. The branches and trunk of a honeylocust feature thorns that can reach 3 inches in length.
Geography
-
In the wild, the honeylocust grows as far to the north as states like Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Indiana and Ohio. Honeylocust occurs in the East in West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee and parts of Alabama. The southern part of its range includes almost all of Mississippi and Louisiana and much of eastern Texas, with the tree growing as far west as central Oklahoma and Kansas.
-
Considerations
-
Before choosing a honeylocust tree for your property, consider that the pods can cause quite a mess when they fall, requiring you to constantly rake the area beneath the trunk. The thorns, which some people use as pins since they are so sharp, are another feature that can be potentially dangerous. Some of the pluses of a honeylocust include the fact that you can grow grass around them since the shade the tree produces is light. The species handles many types of soils and tolerates air pollution and the effects of salt.
Types
-
The focus when producing cultivars of honeylocust is on developing thornless types and fruitless varieties. The University of Connecticut Plant Database states that the Christie hybrid hardly ever produces the seedpods. The impcole is a dwarf hybrid that grows to about 35 feet high. The shademaster resists dry conditions, the speczam has golden-yellow leaves and the moraine was one of the first honeylocust cultivars without thorns.
Pests
-
The United States Forest Service website reports that as honeylocust hybrids increase, the bugs that can damage them also multiply. Among these pests is the mimosa webworm, an insect that can defoliate the branches. Spider mites gobble up the leaves, with infestations capable of severe damage. Walkingsticks, certain moth larvae and different leafhoppers will devour the leaves. A beetle called a flat-headed borer can access the trunk and hurt a honeylocust.
-
