Gleditsia triacanthos var. inermis
Common Name(s):
- Phonetic Spelling
- gleh-DIT-see-uh try-a-KAN-thos IN-er-mis
- Description
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Thornless honey locust is a large, deciduous tree in the Fabaceae (bean) family, reaching heights of up to 30 to 70 feet quickly. It is native to central and eastern North America, from North Carolina to Mexico. It grows in the piedmont, mountain and coastal regions of North Carolina. As the name implies, it does not have the thorns of its parent plant Gleditsia triacanthos. The genus is named for the German botanist Gottlieb Gleditsch; triacanthos is Latin for three-spined, and inermis is Latin for unarmed.
Plant it in locations that receive full sun and have moist, organically rich, well-drained soil, and make sure you have enough room for its mature size. It transplants easily, tolerates poor clay soils, urban conditions, salt, drought, black walnut, and is resistant to damage by deer.
With a short trunk and open, spreading crown, the fine-textured leaves give it a delicate silhouette. This flowering tree casts light shade allowing grass to be planted underneath, and when the tiny leaflets turn bright yellow and drop in the fall, it results in an easy clean up. Some cultivars are fruitless making for even easier clean up. The wood from this tree is often used for fence posts, railroad ties, furniture, tool handles, and fuel.
Use as a specimen in a lawn, recreational play area, or as a street tree. The fruit is edible, which attracts pollinators and makes it a welcome addition to any wildlife garden. Its lack of thorns make it an ideal shade tree for a children's garden.
Quick ID Hints:
- Adult leaves pinnately compound
- Juvenile leaves bipinnately compound
- Fruit is dark brown, pendulous pod, often curved or coiled
- Short trunk, fine-textured, spreading crown
- Pubescent midrib on leaf underside
- 20 to 30 leaflets per leaf
Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: Borers, gall midge, and webworms may be problems. Honey locusts are susceptible to leaf spot, canker, witches’ broom, powdery mildew, and rust.
VIDEO created by Andy Pulte for “Landscape Plant Identification, Taxonomy and Morphology” a plant identification course offered by the Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee.
- Profile Video:
- See this plant in the following landscape:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- 'Emerald Kascade'
Weeping, fruitless - 'Moraine'
Zigzag, broad, spreading habit, graceful outline; fruitless; higher disease resistance - 'Summer Lace'
- 'Sunburst'
Yellow new leaves become bright green, fruitless
- 'Emerald Kascade'
- 'Emerald Kascade', 'Moraine', 'Summer Lace', 'Sunburst'
- Tags:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- 'Emerald Kascade'
Weeping, fruitless - 'Moraine'
Zigzag, broad, spreading habit, graceful outline; fruitless; higher disease resistance - 'Summer Lace'
- 'Sunburst'
Yellow new leaves become bright green, fruitless
- 'Emerald Kascade'
- 'Emerald Kascade', 'Moraine', 'Summer Lace', 'Sunburst'
- Tags:
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-
Attributes:
- Genus:
- Gleditsia
- Species:
- triacanthos
- Family:
- Fabaceae
- Uses (Ethnobotany):
- The wood of this tree is used as fence posts, railroad ties, furniture, warehouse pallets, shipping pallets, tool handles, and fuel. Native Americans are known to have used the dried pulp fro seed pods as a sweetener and minor food source. They used the wood to make bows. Traditional medicines were made from various parts of the plant.
- Life Cycle:
- Woody
- Wildlife Value:
- Hosts the larvae of the Silver Spotted Skipper as well as many other larvae of moths and butterflies.
- Play Value:
- Attracts Pollinators
- Edible fruit
- Fragrance
- Pieces Used in Games
- Shade
- Wildlife Cover/Habitat
- Wildlife Food Source
- Wind Shimmer
- Dimensions:
- Height: 30 ft. 0 in. - 70 ft. 0 in.
- Width: 30 ft. 0 in. - 50 ft. 0 in.
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Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Native Plant
- Tree
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Habit/Form:
- Open
- Rounded
- Spreading
- Growth Rate:
- Rapid
- Maintenance:
- Medium
- Texture:
- Fine
- Appendage:
- Thorns
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Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
- Soil Texture:
- Clay
- High Organic Matter
- Loam (Silt)
- Sand
- Soil pH:
- Alkaline (>8.0)
- Neutral (6.0-8.0)
- Soil Drainage:
- Good Drainage
- Moist
- Very Dry
- Available Space To Plant:
- 24-60 feet
- more than 60 feet
- NC Region:
- Coastal
- Mountains
- Piedmont
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
- 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b
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Fruit:
- Fruit Color:
- Brown/Copper
- Fruit Value To Gardener:
- Edible
- Display/Harvest Time:
- Fall
- Fruit Type:
- Legume
- Fruit Length:
- > 3 inches
- Fruit Description:
- Bean-like pod 7-8" long pod but can be longer, reddish brown to blackish, about 1" wide, margin of pod contracts causing coiling; pod contains shiny, hard, dark brown, oval shaped seeds. Falling fruits can be messy.
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Flowers:
- Flower Color:
- Gold/Yellow
- Green
- Flower Value To Gardener:
- Fragrant
- Flower Bloom Time:
- Spring
- Summer
- Flower Description:
- Greenish-yellow fragrant flowers in summer; 7"-8"
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Leaves:
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Leaf Color:
- Green
- Leaf Feel:
- Glossy
- Deciduous Leaf Fall Color:
- Gold/Yellow
- Leaf Type:
- Compound (Pinnately , Bipinnately, Palmately)
- Leaf Arrangement:
- Alternate
- Leaf Shape:
- Lanceolate
- Oblong
- Leaf Margin:
- Serrate
- Hairs Present:
- Yes
- Leaf Length:
- 1-3 inches
- Leaf Width:
- < 1 inch
- Leaf Description:
- 6"-8" alternate, pinnately or bipinnately compound leaves appear in the late spring They are glossy bright green in the summer, yellow to yellow-green early fall color. Juvenile leaves are bipinnately compound; mature leaves are pinnately compound. Leaves have 20-30 oblong-lanceolate leaflets per leaf, each 1/3 - 1 ½" long and half as wide, slightly serrated with pubescence on midrib underneath.
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Bark:
- Bark Color:
- Dark Brown
- Dark Gray
- Surface/Attachment:
- Furrowed
- Ridges
- Bark Plate Shape:
- Rectangle
- Bark Description:
- Attractive, gray-brown, develops elongated, plate-like patches with furrows in between.
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Stem:
- Stem Color:
- Brown/Copper
- Green
- Red/Burgundy
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
- Stem Form:
- Zig Zags
- Stem Surface:
- Smooth (glabrous)
- Stem Description:
- Smooth red-brown or green zig-zag, enlarged nodes, 5 lateral buds at each note, no terminal winter bud.
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Landscape:
- Landscape Location:
- Lawn
- Recreational Play Area
- Landscape Theme:
- Children's Garden
- Drought Tolerant Garden
- Pollinator Garden
- Design Feature:
- Shade Tree
- Street Tree
- Attracts:
- Pollinators
- Small Mammals
- Songbirds
- Resistance To Challenges:
- Black Walnut
- Deer
- Drought
- Poor Soil
- Salt
- Urban Conditions
- Wind
