I love honeylocusts!

[Primalclaws1974]

There are two species of honeylocust I am away of in Iowa. No, I cannot tell you there proper name, but one is without spikes and one is armored in them like a porcupine. I love the banana-shaped pods both species seeds develop in. I used to shake them and play with them as a child. I was able to grow the non-spike variety indoors for about a year until my cat ate it (anything to do with the leaves looking like fern leaves?). The spike variety grows outside of town. It's near a walking trail. One year I was walking through with regularly tennis shoes and stepped on a two-inch spike on the ground. It pierced my show like a nail and embedded in my foot! Although painful, even the "evil twin" is beautiful. Just looked at it from a distance.

 

[kevinkimers]

Never heard of a honeylocust. Do you have pictures of it. Is it a type of cactus?

 

[gata montes]

Although native to many parts of the world Gleditsia Tricanthus commonly known as Honey Locust - it is often grown as an ornamental tree

and a very popular choice too - as not only does in come in many varieties in terms of size but there are also various foliage colors to choose from - like for instance - the beautiful golden hued foliage of " Sunburst " or my favorite

Ruby Lace - with its ever changing wine red/burgundy colored foliage

its also extremely drought tolerant and very cold hardy too

 

[kevinkimers]

They are beautiful. Thank you for sharing. Am I wrong, but their limbs make me think they are of the dogwood family. I have seen these before but did not know what they were called. We had one growing in my front yard as a kid. I always loved that tree.

 

[Primalclaws1974]

It is a widely used ornamental tree, you are right. They are grown very much like your first picture. I see them often in parking lots and in the yards of professional businesses. These of course are the "non-spiked" variety. Kevinkimbers, I had to look up dogwoods, because I wasn't sure. Dogwoods are flowering trees, and honeylocust are not. Most of the dogwoods seem to be fairly small trees too. Honeylocust trees when older can be sort of tall. They aren't as big as oaks, but they can grow to 25 feet (I'm guessing). The ornamental trees you see in cities are either young, or a different species than the ones I've seen grow large.

 

[gata montes]

No Gleditsia Tricanthus or Honey Locust is not related to Cornus more commonly known as Dogwood - as apart from the fact that they both have entirely different foliage and flowers and one is a pod bearing tree and the other is a berry bearing tree - they both belong to totally different plant families

Gleditsia Tricanthus or Honey Locust - belongs to the Fabaceae or Leguminosae plant family commonly known as the legume, pea or bean family
and
Cornus or Dogwood - belongs to the Cornaceae plant family of which there are more than 60 or so different types of tree, shrub and subshrub - mostly known for their striking bark and stunning flowers.

However although Gleditsia Tricanthus do bloom - they have fairly inconspicuous but highly scented flowers - rather than showy blooms - unlike the Black Locust tree - Robinia Pseudoacacia which they are often mistaken for - as apart from the fact that they have thorns too - their growth habits and foliage are also very similar and look like this

they look stunning when in bloom too - especially as - depending on the variety the blossoms apart from white come in lovely shades of pink and purple.

 

[gata montes]

Most of the dogwoods seem to be fairly small trees too. Honeylocust trees when older can be sort of tall. They aren't as big as oaks, but they can grow to 25 feet (I'm guessing)

I'm not sure that I would agree that Cornus or Dogwoods would be classed as a small tree as although generally wider than they are tall - on average they grow to around 45 - 50 ft tall.

Whereas Gleditsia Tricanthus or Honey Locust trees

on average can grow from anything between 26ft to 140 ft tall - which isn't too far off the height of the average oak tree.

 

[Primalclaws1974]

Perhaps I was thinking they looked small because of their shape of being wider than they are tall. I am sure that honeylocust do not grow to be 140 feet tall around here. Like I said, I don't know how long they live, so maybe the trees I have seen are young. The dogwood trees here in Iowa are beautiful when they bloom. The ground looks like colorful snow when they begin to fall. But like most flowering trees they only remain open for a short time.