To recognize honey locust tree, check for long, branched thorns on the trunk and branches, often in clusters, plus leaves that are pinnate or bipinnate with many small oval leaflets.
The crown is open, and the trunk commonly divides into several large ascending limbs.
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Check the trunk, leaves, and pods of Gleditsia triacanthos first.
Long pods plus branched trunk thorns make this tree easy to narrow down.
Gleditsia triacanthos shows clear age-related changes in leaves, armature, branching, flowers, and pods.
Several named forms of honey locust tree are easy to separate by crown shape, thorniness, or leaf color.
In spring, honey locust tree leafs out with fine, fernlike foliage. Small greenish flowers appear in late spring to early summer, though they are often less noticeable than the leaves. By late summer into fall, long twisted seed pods become obvious and may hang on after leaf drop. Winter exposes the open branching and, on some trees, large branched thorns on trunk and limbs.
A few thorny, compound-leaved trees can be mistaken for honey locust tree.
black locust(Robinia pseudoacacia)
Similar because both have pinnate leaves and bean-like pods. Black locust usually has paired short spines at the leaf nodes, not the large branched trunk thorns of Gleditsia. Its pods are smaller and flatter, typically 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 cm) long.
Kentucky coffeetree(Gymnocladus dioicus)
Similar because both can have very large compound leaves and coarse branching. Kentucky coffeetree lacks thorns and has fewer, much larger leaflets. Its pods are thick, dark, and blunt, not the long, twisted straps seen on mature honey locust.
Gleditsia triacanthos is native to the central and eastern United States, especially the Mississippi River basin and nearby regions, with natural populations extending from Pennsylvania west to Nebraska and south to Texas and Louisiana. In the wild it is most often found in bottomlands, floodplains, open woods, stream banks, and disturbed ground. That setting can help with identification, especially when a suspected tree is growing in lowland woodland or along rivers rather than in dry upland forest.
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Yes. Mature trees often develop a broad, open crown and thick gray-brown bark with long, branched thorns on trunk and limbs. Leaves stay finely textured, but size and thorn development make older specimens easier for honey locust tree identification.
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