Honey Locust

Gleditsia triacanthos var. inermis

Deciduous-Trees

(Detailed plant information can be found at the bottom of the page.)

Gleditsia triacanthos var. inermis Photo Gallery

Classification

Scientific Name:	Gleditsia triacanthos var. inermis
Common Name:	honey locust
Family:	Fabaceae
Suggested Uses:	large tree for filtered shade

Characteristics

Height:	usually 30 - 70 feet tall; variable
Foliage:	deciduous, alternate, pinnate or bipinnately compound with 20 to 30 leaflets leaflet is entire and may have small notch at tip of leaflet can have good yellow Fall color; may drop leaves early
Fruit:	dark brown pod up to 15” long and 1” wide usually has an irregular twist
Bark:	greyish brown on older trees smooth with long, narrow, longitudinal ridges with fairly deep ridges

Environment

USDA Zone:	zones 4 - 9

Care

Maintenance:	thorns and pods create maintenance problems straight species has large thorns; variety inermis is thornless ‘Shademaster' and ‘Sunburst' are common fruitless cultivars large trees have been known to fall over
Pests & Pathology:	numerous disease (leaf spots, cankers) and insect (web worms, borers) problems root rot is becoming more of an issue

Additional Notes:	once thought to be the tree to replace Ulmus Americana, but has been overused and now is suffering from monoculture problems

Address

Texas Tech University, Department of Plant and Soil Science, Box 42122, Lubbock, TX 79409
Phone
806.742.2838
Email
Melanie.Jackson@ttu.edu