Arkansas Tree Database

Scientific name:

Gleditsia Triacanthos

Size:

30'-75' tall by as wide, up to 100' tall

Leaves:

alternate, pinnately compound, 6"-8" long, with 18-28 leaflets or bipinnately compound with 4-7 pairs of secondary leaflets, with small rounded teeth

Flowers:

greenish yellow, inconspicuous

Fruit:

flat pod, 8"-15" long, flattened, often twisted, messy, browsed by wildlife for sugary pulp surrounding the seeds

Fall Interest:

clear yellow; deciduous

Culture:

sun; adaptable

Disease/Insect:

mites, cankers, web worms, borers

Use:

aggressive spreader and a problem for pastures because the thorns puncture tractor tires; good source of honey; not recommended for home landscapes; used for posts, crossties

Cultivars:

thornless variety Gleditsia triacanthos f. inermis with no thorns and few or no seed pods; good shade tree and street tree; good for bees; 'Aurea' also tolerant of compacted soil

Notes:

bark dark gray-brown and divided into wide, flat, often peeling ridges, with 3"-10" stout, branched thorns growing in clusters from trunk, twigs, and branches; Native Americans used dried pulp from pods for sweetener and the wood for bows; visited by bees and butterflies; native to Arkansas