18. Honey Locust

Also called the Sweet Locust or Thorny Locust

Specimen Size: 43.8ft tall, 10.5in in diameter

Location: Several clustered in planting space in the Brick Patio between the College of Engineering and Loew Hall.

Historical Background: The Cherokee use the wood to craft arrows. First observed by colonizers in the 1700s, this tree’s name comes from the sweet, honey-like substance in its pods which were crushed to be used as a sweetener and can be used to make beer. It has been used to make fences, railroad ties, pallets, tools, and as fuel. The wood’s luster finish also makes it desirable to build furniture with. 

Non-Native

Native Range: East-Central United States

Identifying Features: Grows into a large tree which may be noted for its bark, gray brown to black, expressing long narrow scaly ridges interspersed by fissures. The bark can also have stout brown spines, often branched, up to 8” (20cm) in length with 3 or more tips. The leaves are compound, and therefore very different from others seen on this tour so far, with many oblong leaflets (like one would see in miniature on other related members of the legume family). Flowers are similarly pea like, bell shaped and in narrow clusters near the leaf base, giving rise to long flat pods, slightly curved and twisted, containing multiple bean-like flattened seeds in a sweetish edible pulp.

Identifying Features In Depth:

1. Form: A straight tree up to 80’ (24m) when fully mature, with a flattened crown of spreading branches and achieving a diameter of 2.5’ (0,8m) when fully mature.

2. Leaves: Leaves can be both pinnately and bi-pinnately compound, to a length of 4-8” (10-20 cm), with 3-6 pairs of leaflets up to about 1 ¼ ” (3cm) in length. The tops are a shiny dull green, the bottoms a dull yellow and nearly hairless. The edges have wavy formations. In autumn they are a bright yellow, with the leaflets falling to the ground (often individually).

3. Bark: Dark brown to gray, or even black, with deep fissures running in long narrow scaly ridges. Stout spines, often with branches and up to 8” (20 cm) in length appear on the bark with 3 or more points. Twigs grow in a zigzag pattern and have long spines.

4. Reproductive Bodies: Flowers are 10mm wide, bell-shaped and pea like, each with fine hairs and 5 petals in a greenish yellow color. They form in spring in narrow clusters at leaf bases. Often the trees have male or female flowers only or will have the two sexes on seperate branches. The flowers give rise to long bean-like pods, flat and slightly curved with a dark brown hair wall. The seeds within are flattened and dark brown, with an edible pulp.