Gleditsia triacanthos

Hello, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. Gleditsia triacanthos is the scientific name for honey locust, Gleditsia for a German botanist and triacanthos means "three-spined," and that is right on the money. This is one heavily armed tree – strong stout thorns up to four inches long and occurring in groups of three from a few feet above the base upwards, and on the larger branches, but stopping at some point as the tree grows taller. Scientists think that point was where the mastodons could no longer reach the unripe seed pods with their trunks. The seed pods are a bit tough for today’s mammals but not a problem for mastodons who gobbled them up for their sweet gooey inside and then spread the seeds, which are hard and probably went through their digestive system intact, across their foraging range.