Gleditchias (Gleditsia triacanthos) form strong thorns about 15 cm long on the trunk and branches. These can be removed without harm to the tree. Some thornless varieties are also commercially available.
The thorns of the honey locust can be removed - but there are also thornless varieties
Gleditschien are also called leather sleeve trees. They belong to the legume family (Fabaceae). The flowers actually develop into quite large legumes with edible content. Honeycombs come from temperate and subtropical regions of South and North America, Asia and Africa. There they reach considerable heights of up to 30 meters. In our latitude, the trees are about 10 meters high. The leatherpod trees are deciduous.
Thornless Varieties
The genus Gleditschia contains several species. Most of them have thorns, which are found singly or in clusters on the trunk and branches. There are a number of thornless honey locust species that usually do not bear fruit. The following varieties without thorns are offered most often:
- Inermis (green foliage, yellow-orange in autumn, moderate growth)
- Sunburst (foliage yellow to yellow-green, autumn color yellow)
- Skyline (foliage dark green; green-gold to bright yellow in fall)
- Shademaster (foliage dark green, autumn colors golden yellow)
Varieties and possible uses
The species of honey locust differ not only in whether they have thorns or are thornless. They also come in different colors (red, green or yellow leaves), shapes and sizes. The small varieties Elegantissima or Globosa only reach a height of about 5 meters. The black locust Globosa forms a beautiful spherical crown, but does not bear any flowers from which the decorative legumes can later develop. Due to the color of their leaves, glacial locusts are very suitable for brightening up dark woody plantations.
tips
The name "Gleditchie" was given in honor of the German botanist Johann Gottlieb Gleditsch, who was director of the Berlin Botanical Garden from 1746 to around 1753.