Honeylocust

Honeylocust — Gleditsia triacanthos

Gledistsia is in honor of Johann Gottlieb Gleditsch who was director of the Berlin Botanic Garden; triacanthos means three-spined or three-t horned. In some parts of Virginia the tree is known as “honeyshucks” because the sweet pods are eaten by cattle.

The Cherokee Indians of Tennessee made their bows from the honeylocust. The zig-zag pattern of branches in winter and soft, fern-like foliage in the summer help to identi, this eastern native. Foliage is compound with numeroys, small, slightly scalloped leaflets. Because of the small leaflets, reducing the fall “mess,” its adaptability to alkaline soils and the relatively rapid growth, honeylocust is a popular tree in below 7,000’ elevation.

The name triacanthos refers to the three-spined thorns found on the older trees grown from seed. More recently, however, thornless selections have been found and propagated by budding techniques and sold under various names as ‘Skyline,’ ‘Morraine’ and ‘Shade Master.’ Variety ‘Sunburst’ is a yellow-foliaged thornless type rapidly becoming popular.

The fruit of honeylocust is a dark brown, leathery pod resembling a long, twisted and flat bean to which it is related. Podless forms of honeylocust are also available, although in old age, even some of the advertised “podless” forms such as ‘Morraine’ may occasionally produce the pods.

This species, while having some definite advantages in Colorado, is probably being over-planted much like the America elm was in the early 1900s. Too many plantings of one tree type in a city can lead to serious, sudden losses from an insect or disease epidemic much like Dutch elm disease has devastated American elm plantings.

Other Denver locations

North side of the University of Denver campus.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey_locust