Identifying Characteristics
| Size/Form: | Grows 30 to 50 feet tall with an open crown and thick branched thorns. |
| Leaves: | The leaves are pinnately or bi-pinnately compound, alternate, and deciduous. They have many leaflets and are 6-8 inches long. The leaves are shiny dark green in the growing season, but they turn yellow before they drop off in the fall. |
| Twigs: | Honeylocust twigs grow in a zigzag pattern. Larger twigs typically have thorns with three points. |
| Bark: | Blackish to grayish bark that develop smooth plate like patches as the tree matures. In a natural environment, the bark can often have clusters of large, sharp thorns like knitting needles. |
| Flowers: | Greenish yellow, fragrant small numerous in hanging clusters. |
| Fruit: | Long, twisted, flattened green pods form in late summer and turn dark brown as they ripen. They are usually 15-40 cm long and can have a sweet ripe smell once they fall to the ground. |
| Similar Trees on the Florida 4-H Forest Ecology Contest List: Several other plants on our list also have alternate, pinnately-compound leaves.
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