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Species
Gleditsia triacanthos L.
IUCN
NCBI
EOL Text
Distribution: It is a native of United States, cultivated in the gardens of Punjab.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | eFloras.org Copyright © Missouri Botanical Garden |
Source | http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=5&taxon_id=200012141 |
The flowers are cross-pollinated primarily by small bees and flies. Both nectar and pollen are available as floral rewards to such visitors. The caterpillars of Epargyreus clarus (Silver-Spotted Skipper) feed on the foliage of Honey Locust. Several moth caterpillars prefer this tree as a host plant
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Rights holder/Author | Copyright © 2002-2014 by Dr. John Hilty |
Source | http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/trees/plants/honey_locust.html |
Honeylocust coppices freely. Propagation, particularly of high quality clonal stock, can be achieved by grafting, budding, and cuttings from hardwood, softwood, and roots (7). Root cuttings appear to be the best method of reproducing desirable strains in large quantities at reasonable cost. At times other species or varieties are grafted onto the rootstock of honeylocust (24).
Honeylocust thorn production usually diminishes gradually and finally ceases in the upper and outer crown growth as the tree ages. Thorns may still be produced on the lower trunk and on lower-trunk and limb sprouts. Typical trees, 10 years old or more, show a definite thornless region in the upper and outer shoot growth. When hardwood cuttings for propagation are taken from this thornless area, the scions generally remain thornless (6). Tree breeders can control the sex of scions from honeylocust by selecting unisexual budwood when taking cuttings. Certain branches bear only one type of flower, and trees from cuttings from those branches will bear only that type (14).
More info for the term: mast
Honey-locust pods are eaten by cattle, goats, white-tailed deer,
Virginia opossum, eastern gray squirrel, fox squirrel, rabbits, quail
(including northern bobwhite), crows, and starling [8,11]. White-tailed
deer frequently strip and eat the soft bark of young trees in winter
[36]; rabbits also consume honey-locust bark in winter [8]. Livestock
and white-tailed deer consume young vegetative growth [8,36].
Honey-locust is a source of pollen and nectar for honey [36].
In Virginia, honey-locust and other species were planted for mast
production on the margins of plots cleared and revegetated for wildlife
[28]. Honey-locust is planted into currently operating pastures and
hayfields to provide high-protein mast for livestock (a management
system termed browse agroforestry). Cattle do not digest the seeds and
thus do not derive full nutritional benefit from consuming whole pods,
but ground honey-locust pods do provide a high-protein feed for cattle.
Sheep do digest the seeds, and therefore obtain more of the available
protein when consuming whole pods. The open canopy of honey-locust
allows good growth of pasture grasses [43].
Honey-locust is essentially Midwestern in distribution, from the west slope of Appalachians to the eastern edge of Great Plains -- scattered in the east-central US from central Pennsylvania westward to southeastern South Dakota, south to central and southeastern Texas, east to southern Alabama, then northeasterly through Alabama to western Maryland. Outlying populations occur in northwestern Florida, west Texas, and west central Oklahoma. It is naturalized east to the Appalachians from South Carolina north to Pennsylvania, New York, and New England and Nova Scotia; sometimes a weed tree in India, New Zealand, and South Africa. For current distribution, please consult the Plant Profile page for this species on the PLANTS Web site.
In Great Britain and/or Ireland:
Foodplant / gall
larva of Dasineura gleditschiae causes gall of live leaf of Gleditsia triacanthos
Foodplant / saprobe
fruitbody of Pholiota squarrosa is saprobic on relatively freshly cut, white rotted stump of Gleditsia triacanthos
Germination is thought to be enhanced when seeds are eaten and passed undigested by birds and mammals (7). Passage through the digestive system apparently softens the impermeable seedcoat. Enhanced germination can also be achieved by mechanically scarifying the seeds or soaking them in concentrated sulfuric acid or hot water (880 C, 1900 F) for 1 to 2 hours. When hot water is used the water and seeds should be allowed to cool to room temperature or until seeds swell (3). Treated seeds should be sown promptly and not stored. Germination is epigeal.
Honeylocust seedlings show a growth pattern characteristic of deciduous hardwoods with sympodial. growth. Persistent terminal buds are not formed and the shoot tip often dies and falls off (5).
Nursery-grown seedlings from pretreated seeds attain suitable size-30 cm (12 in) or more in height-for field planting in 1 year (3). In southern Michigan, first-year seedlings grown in pots reached a height of 37 cm (14.6 in) by September 21, just before leaf abscission (5). The average root-to-shoot ratio was 2 to 3. Stem growth was slow in the spring but rapid in early summer and fall. Only 60 percent of the height growth was attained by mid-July. In an additional study in southern Michigan, nursery seedlings grown 3 years in pots and nearly two growing seasons outplanted in the field averaged 22 mm (0.9 in) in trunk diameter (16) by early autumn. The following year trunk diameter increased 4 min (0.15 in).
Dormant nursery-grown seedlings can be stored, barerooted, at about 0° C (32° F) for several weeks before outplanting with no appreciable loss in survival rate (15).
Honey-locust pioneers on strip-mine spoil banks in the Midwest. It
is often planted for erosion control [8].
Leguminosae -- Legume family
Robert M. Blair
Honeylocust (Gleditsia triacanthos), also called sweet-locust or thorny-locust, is a moderately fast growing tree commonly found on moist bottom lands or limestone soils. Because it has proven very hardy and tolerant of drought and salinity, it is widely planted for windbreaks and soil erosion control. The thornless variety has been planted to replace the elm in many urban areas. The wood is dense, hard, and durable but used only locally. Honeylocust pods are sweet and eaten by livestock and wildlife. The tree is relatively short lived, reaching the age of 125 years.
More info for the terms: natural, tree
Honey-locust is a native, deciduous tree. Mature heights usually range
from 49 to 98 feet (15-30 m) [11,36], with a maximum height of 140 feet
(43 m) [14]. In natural stands honey-locust averages 70 to 80 feet
(21-24 m) in height [8]. Honey-locust is armed with heavy branched
thorns on the lower branches and trunk [11]. The crown is plumelike and
open [14,42]. The bole is usually short and often divided near the
ground. The bark of mature trunks is usually 0.25 to 0.75 inches
(0.6-3.5 cm) thick with narrow ridges divided by fissures. The bark
peels in strips [14]. The thick, fibrous roots are deep and
wide-spreading [14,39]. The tree is sturdy and windfirm [14]. The
fruit is a legume 8 to 16 inches (15-40 cm) long and 1 to 1.4 inches
(2.5-3.5 cm) wide [8,11,22].
Honey-locust is usually described as rapid-growing [8,39]. Average
longevity for honey-locust is 125 years [8].
Unlike most leguminous species, honey-locust does not form Rhizobium
nodules on its roots, and does not fix nitrogen [12].