Honey locust
Honey locust tree ( Gleditsia triacanthos )
The honey locust tree ( Gleditsia triacanthos ), also called Honeylocust or False Christ thorn, a flowering plant in the genus Gleditschien from the legume family is ( Fabaceae ).
Dissemination
The honey locust tree is native to the central and eastern parts of the U.S.. It is fully hardy in Central Europe and is often planted in parks and facilities here. In southern Europe it is often naturalized in central Europe are Verwilderungen, however rare. Because of their modesty, the kind in Central Europe and North America (eg New York City) is occasionally used as a street tree.
Description
The honey locust tree grows as a deciduous tree and reaches stature heights of up to 20 meters. It usually forms a funnel- shaped tree crown. The bark is dark reddish gray with flat scaly ridges. The trunk is spine reinforced with large bunches of strong, branched thorns that are up to 30 cm long, which has led to the term " False Christ 's Thorn". The branches are slightly bent back and forth and usually have three spines on each bud.
The leaves are mostly simple, but many are also twice pinnate. The pinnate leaves are 10-15 cm long and have 14 to 26 oblong leaflets that are each 2-4 cm long; a terminal leaflet usually absent. The bipinnate leaves bear 8-14 leaflets. End of October, get the leaves for a short time a beautiful golden yellow in autumn.
The flowers are loosely distributed in about 12 cm long racemose inflorescences. The flowers of the American Honey Locust are unremarkable. The male flowers are about 5 mm in size and have five yellow-green petals.
Strikingly, however, are the legumes. They hang in the fall and winter than about 25 ( in warm regions and up to 50) cm long and 2.5 to 4 centimeters wide sleeves down from the trees. They are spirally twisted and turn brown later.
Toxicity
The leaves are considered poisonous, the seeds and fruits, however, are edible.
Main active ingredient in the leaves is the Triacanthin of which are described as symptoms of poisoning cramps as well as respiratory and circulatory disorders. In fact, no poisonings have been reported from the leaves of the tree so far.
Reproduction
As a spread strategy, the honey locust tree uses mainly the digestive propagation or so-called Endochorie. Launched since the 16th century, horses and domestic cattle eat the nutritious seed pods and spread the indigestible seeds in their droppings. It is suspected that earlier especially the mammoth and mastodon prairie and giant sloths were involved in the spread of this species.
Varieties
Thornless varieties of this species are now very much grown in the Midwestern United States, where very few tree species thrive. Another use in Central Europe is the urban space ( streets, parks ) with special conditions.
- ' Inermis ': A species, are in the trunk and branches without thorns; the trunk is deeply furrowed than model. To be found in parks and as a street tree.
- 'Sunburst ': A resulting in the U.S. form of golden bud, the nachgrünt immediately clear.
- 'Skyline': a variety of a tighter growth is said, which is often used as a street tree.
Photo Gallery
Appearance of a full-grown tree
Trunk with the typical spines
Thorns of the American Honey Locust