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FAMILY: FABACEAE
ALTERNATE COMMON NAME:
LEAVES: alternate, pinnately or bipinnately
compound; deciduous; leaflets about 1” long x 1/2”
wide
FLOWER: greenish-yellow, small (1/4”);
clustered on raceme; April-May
FRUIT: long legume, 6-18 inch; hard brown
seeds; pod inside's: fleshy and sweet
TWIGS: stout, brown, zigzag; branched thorns
(note: thorns are modified branches, spines
are modified leaves or stipules)
BARK: smooth, dark, curling into long hard
plates; branched thorns
FORM: medium to large tree; 50-80’
tall x 2-3' diameter
HABITAT: moist bottomland sites, roadsides
WETLAND DESIGNATION: facultative (FAC);
equally likely to occur (34-66%) in wetlands or non-wetlands
in the southeast US
RANGE: eastern US
USES: wood is hard and durable, used for
fence posts and railroad ties; thornless varieties used for
ornamentals, but locust borers are a serious pest; pods used
by cattle and deer; does not fix nitrogen
Brief Recognition Features:
- branched thorns on stems and branches
- long legume: 6-18 inches; inside of pod is sweet
- pinnately and bipinnately compound leaves
NOTES: the closely related water locust
(Gleditsia aquatica) is found in swamps;
has pods that are oval, are only 1.5-2” long, and lack
pulp |
