HONEY LOCUST 



(Gleditsia Triacanthos) 



THIS tree has never suffered for want of names, but most of them 

 refer either to the sweetness of the pod or to the fierceness of the 

 thorns. The belief has long prevailed that it was the pods of this tree 

 on which John the Baptist fed while a recluse in the Syrian desert. The 

 tradition should not be taken seriously. It was certainly not this tree, 

 if any, which furnished food to the prophet in the wilderness, for it does 

 not grow in Syria. Some related species may grow there, for species of 

 Gleditsia occur in western Asia as well as in China, Japan, and west 

 Africa. The generic name is in honor of Johann Gottlieb Gleditsch, a 

 German botanist who died in 1786. 



The name honey locust refers to the pod, not the flowers. The 

 latter are greenish, inconspicuous, and though eagerly sought by bees, 

 they offer no particular attractions to people. Few persons ever notice 

 them. 



In some of the southwestern states the tree is called black locust, 

 though for what reason it is not apparent. Sweet locust, by which name 

 it is known in several states, has reference to the pods, as do the names 

 honey, and honey-shucks locust, applied in different localities. Many 

 persons in naming the tree have thorns in mind. It is known as three- 

 thorned acacia, thorn locust, thorn tree, thorny locust, and thorny 

 acacia. The botanist who named it considered thorns a characteristic, 

 for TriacantJws means " three- thorned." 



No one who has ever had dealings with the thorns, will fail to duly 

 consider them. They are about the most ferocious product of American 

 forests. The tree's trunk and largest branches bristle with them, 

 standing out like porcupine quills, and sharper than any needle devised 

 by human ingenuity. Microscopists use them for picking up and 

 handling minute objects, their points being smooth and delicate though 

 their shafts may be strong and rough. Thorns are arrested branches, 

 coming from deep down in the wood. No more can one of them be pulled 

 out than a limb can be extracted by the roots. They come from the 

 center of the tree or limb. Some put out leaves and become true 

 branches, but others sharpen their points, assume an attitude of hostility, 

 and remain thorns to the end of their lives. Some of them are a foot 

 long, and are so strong that birds flying against them are impaled and 

 meet cruel death. A well-armed trunk is proof against the agility and 

 skill of the squirrel. He cannot negotiate the thorns, and probably 

 he tries only once. The hot pursuit of a dog will not compel him to 



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