Honey locust: gleditsia triacanthos
The honey locust is a deciduous thorny tree which produces compound leaves and legume fruits. The honey locust shown above identifies as Gleditsia triacanthos. As an English major, researching its taxonomy helped me understand the categories in relation to the tree's features. Gleditsia distinguishes the honey locust from other plants that belong to Fabaceae family, or legume family which describes its fruit pods. Triacanthos describes the common three-parted thorns that develop along its branches (Owens).
When fully mature they can grow up to 130 feet tall, and it's a popular ornamental tree used in landscaping, which is probably why I easily found it in my backyard. The first image shows the lightly-dense canopy, which allows other foliage to grow beneath its canopy. (Britannica).
When fully mature they can grow up to 130 feet tall, and it's a popular ornamental tree used in landscaping, which is probably why I easily found it in my backyard. The first image shows the lightly-dense canopy, which allows other foliage to grow beneath its canopy. (Britannica).
Life Cycle, Food, Habitat
The honey locust tree has a life span of 120 years. It rapidly grows to its mature height is considered to have aggressive re-sprouting capabilities, which denotes it as an invasive species if not managed carefully (Shadow). Honey locust trees bear fruit starting at 10 years old and produce seed crops every year (SRS USDA). Animals help to speed the seed germination process because their digestive systems break down the seed's coating.
The tree is native to the United States, with a large concentration in the Midwest; I found this tree along the drainage ditch in my backyard, which makes sense since it thrives in moist, alluvial soil (Shadow). I can confirm at least four honey locust trees in my backyard, so I'm not sure if these trees were intentionally planted as ornamental foliage or if seeds were dispersed by animals.
The tree is native to the United States, with a large concentration in the Midwest; I found this tree along the drainage ditch in my backyard, which makes sense since it thrives in moist, alluvial soil (Shadow). I can confirm at least four honey locust trees in my backyard, so I'm not sure if these trees were intentionally planted as ornamental foliage or if seeds were dispersed by animals.
Striking features
What initially attracted me to this species is its striking thorns. Some of them are a few centimeters long up to 20cm long. Research shows that the honey locust developed these thorns to "defend against the phantom trunks of American mastodons" (Boggs). Since megafauna were extinct between 13,000-9,000 years ago, the trees interestingly "live in the shadows of their extinct coevolutionary partners" (Boggs). The mastodons were attracted to the sweet fruit the tree produced, so the trees developed the thorns as a survival technique since these massive creatures were capable of knocking the entire trees down to obtain the fruit.
Ecological Role & Relations
I've always been fascinated by honey locust trees. I've grown up with them in my backyard in Cedarville and Beavercreek, OH. I was always afraid of the domineering thorns, yet I was intrigued by their tree's fruit, even calling it a banana tree as a child because of its distinct spiral shape.
The photo above features a dry, curly pod that has fallen to the ground. It appears that an animal ate the seeds from the pod, which describes the trees relations to other animals in its environment. Since this tree is in my backyard, this pod in particular was most likely eaten by a squirrel who may have carefully navigated the tree's thorns to obtain the pod, or luckily came across the pods on the ground. Other animals in the area like white-tailed deer, rabbits, opossums, and raccoons frequently eat the pods as well since they are attracted to its sweet, honey-like scent (Shadow). Surprisingly the pods are edible to humans. I couldn't find any pods on the ground that still had the sweet pulp inside.
Since I photographed this tree in September, flowers that usually bloom in summer aren't visible, but butterflies, bees, and moths use the flowers for nectar, and the tree also serves as a larval host for the Silver-spotted Skipper (N.C. State University). Additionally, the tree is also used in parts of Central Asia and in order to control soil erosion with its deep tap-root (Heuzé, Tran, Sauvant, & Lebas).
In relation to humans, the tree is used for landscaping, acquiring timber, and feeding livestock. Native Americans even used the species for medicinal purposes, and it is currently being researched to treat rheumatoid arthritis and cancer (Kim, Adams, & Friedman).
The photo above features a dry, curly pod that has fallen to the ground. It appears that an animal ate the seeds from the pod, which describes the trees relations to other animals in its environment. Since this tree is in my backyard, this pod in particular was most likely eaten by a squirrel who may have carefully navigated the tree's thorns to obtain the pod, or luckily came across the pods on the ground. Other animals in the area like white-tailed deer, rabbits, opossums, and raccoons frequently eat the pods as well since they are attracted to its sweet, honey-like scent (Shadow). Surprisingly the pods are edible to humans. I couldn't find any pods on the ground that still had the sweet pulp inside.
Since I photographed this tree in September, flowers that usually bloom in summer aren't visible, but butterflies, bees, and moths use the flowers for nectar, and the tree also serves as a larval host for the Silver-spotted Skipper (N.C. State University). Additionally, the tree is also used in parts of Central Asia and in order to control soil erosion with its deep tap-root (Heuzé, Tran, Sauvant, & Lebas).
In relation to humans, the tree is used for landscaping, acquiring timber, and feeding livestock. Native Americans even used the species for medicinal purposes, and it is currently being researched to treat rheumatoid arthritis and cancer (Kim, Adams, & Friedman).
Sources
- All photos are my own, taken on a Canon G7x Marc II in Beavercreek, OH
- Britannica: Honey locust
- Huezé, Tran, Sauvant & Lebas: Honey loc ust Feedipedia
- Joe Boggs: "Honeylocusts and Mastodons"
- Kim, Adams, & Friedman: Yale University Honey Locust
- N.C. State University: Plant Toolbox Gleditsia triacanthos
- R. Alan Shadow: Honey Locust - USDA Plant Fact Sheet
- SRS USDA: Gleditsia triacanthos
- Steve Owens: Locust Tree Video