Honey locust is a rapidly growing, large deciduous tree in the Fabaceae (bean) family and found scattered throughout North Carolina, except for the high mountains. It is native to central and eastern North America, from North Carolina to Mexico. This tree can grow up to 80 feet tall with a single trunk 2 to 3 feet in diameter and a broad, flat-topped crown, casting light shade that allows turf grass to grow underneath. It sometimes grows in forests but is more commonly found beside roads and fields. Plant it in full sun and in well-drained, moist soil high in organic matter. It will tolerate partial shade but does not grow in full shade. It also tolerates a wide variety of soil types and moisture conditions. The trunk and branches have stout thorns (up to 3 inches long) that have one or three branches. Propagation is through seed or stem cutting. This tree is not recommended for landscapes because of its thorns and seed pods. The tree can spread quickly and become a weed problem in some pasture areas. Mowing or cutting increases sprouts. Look for thornless varieties like Gleditsia trianthos var. inermis or thornless and podless cultivars like 'Sunburst.' Honey locust is an excellent choice to plant in a native garden or as a street or security tree. The pulp inside the seed pod is edible which makes the tree an attractant for bees, moths, butterflies, and small mammals. It is the host plant for the larvae of the Silver-spotted skipper ( Epargyreus clarus ) moth. This tree is highly salt, wind and drought tolerant once established and resistant to damage by deer and pollution. Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: Borers, webworms, and locust leafminers may be problems. Honey locusts are susceptible to leaf spot, canker, witches’ broom, powdery mildew, and rust. VIDEO Created by Elizabeth Meyer for " Trees, Shrubs and Conifers " a plant identification course offered in partnership with Longwood Gardens.
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
Clay; High Organic Matter; Loam (Silt)
Soil pH
Acid (<6.0); Alkaline (>8.0); Neutral (6.0-8.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist
Available space
more than 60 feet
NC region
Coastal; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 60 ft. 0 in. - 80 ft. 0 in. | Width: 60 ft. 0 in. - 80 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Rapid
Maintenance
Medium
Canopy layer
1 - Canopy (>40 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Arching; Rounded; Spreading
Foliage
Deciduous
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Compound (Pinnately , Bipinnately, Palmately)
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf margin
Entire
Leaf size
> 6 inches long
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
Feathery alternate pinnately compound 5 to 8 inches long leaves with 15 to 30, oval, 1 to 1 1/2 inch leaflets. Can also be found with bininnately compound leaves with 4 to 7 pairs of minor leaflets. Leaflets are shiny dark green above and yellow-green below.
Fall color
Cream/Tan; Gold/Yellow
Flower color
Gold/Yellow; Green
Flower value
Fragrant; Showy
Flower form
Insignificant; Raceme
Flower shape
Radial; Wheel
Flower size
1-3 inches
Flower detail
Small greenish yellow 2 to 3 inch long, narrow, hanging, clustered flowers. Flowers have a sweet fragrance and bloom for about two weeks in summer.
Bloom time
Spring
Fruit color
Brown/Copper; Red/Burgundy
Fruit type
Legume
Fruit value
Showy
Fruit size
> 3 inches long
Fruit detail
Female flowers are replaced by reddish-brown, twisted, flat bean pods 12 to 18 inches long containing oval seeds appear in the summer and can remain on the tree through the winter. Seed pods twist into corkscrew shapes and can be messy to maintain once they fall off the tree. The pods turn black when ripe and contain a sweet-tasting sticky substance that gives Honeylocust its common name.
Bark color
Dark Brown; Dark Gray
Bark detail
Narrow, flat plates that are initially grey-brown to bronze, smooth, with many horizontal lenticels. Later breaks into long, narrow curling plated bark.
Stem detail
Branches and trunk are armed with stout, rigid, three-forked spines that are 2 to 3 inches long.
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Native
Origin
Central and Eastern North America, NC to Mexico
Distribution
Located throughout the United States (except for Washington state and Oregon) and Ontario, Canada.
Wildlife value
Bean pods are eaten by white-tailed deer, squirrels, rabbits, hogs, opossums, and raccoons, deer browse young shoots in spring and bark of young trees in the winter. Butterflies, bees, and moths nectar at the flowers. It is the larval host plant for the Silver-spotted Skipper (Epargyreus clarus).
Attracts
Bees; Butterflies; Moths; Small Mammals
Host plant for
Silver-spotted Skipper (Epargyreus clarus)
Food & Medicine
Edible parts
Seeds
Harvest time
Fall; Winter
Fruit type
Legume
Edibility
The pulp inside the seed pod is edible, raw or cooked, but mostly consumed by livestock and wildlife.
Uses (ethnobotany)
Coarse grained, hard, strong wood is moderately resistant to decay. Timber used as fence posts, railroad ties, furniture, shipping pallets, tool handles, and fuel. Native Americans used the dried pulp from the seed pods as a sweetening agent and used its wood for bows. The thorns have been used as pins.
Landscape Use
Landscape location
Lawn
Landscape theme
Drought Tolerant Garden; Native Garden
Design feature
Security; Street Tree
Garden tags
#salt tolerant #high maintenance #Braham Arboretum #moth caterpillar host #large tree #air pollution tolerant #nectar plant #street tree #larval host plant #NC native #deer resistant #fast growing #food source fall #butterfly friendly #fall color yellow #tsc-t #tsc #non-toxic for cats #non-toxic for horses #non-toxic for dogs #black walnut toxicity tolerant #thorns #bee friendly #fall interest #food source winter #moth friendly #long lived #wildlife friendly #hortcontest #nesting site