Gleditsia triacanthos

Honey locust is in the Fabaceae family and is native to central North America where it is mostly found in river valleys ranging from southeastern South Dakota to New Orleans and central Texas, and as far east as eastern Massachusetts. It can reach up to 25 m tall.

Honey locust can be readily identified by:

• Leaves are compound and pinnately (and sometimes bipinnately) compound, 12–20 cm long, with 15–30 leaflets, 2.5–4.0 cm long, ovate to elliptical.
• Flowers are monoecious (male and female), drooping clusters, cream-colored, in clusters in upright racemes 7 cm long emerging from the base of the leaf axils. Groups of new leaves and flowers sprout from spurs on stems.
• Twigs are zigzag; lateral buds often are hidden under the bark. Long thorns (3-10 cm long), single, or branched into several points are present, commonly form in dense clusters (although there are thornless varieties).
• Fruit is a flat twisted pod 15 to 40 cm in length, one per stalk.

The species has become a significant invasive weed in many regions of the world.