Honey Locust
Gleditsia triacanthos
The long, pealike pods hanging from the branches of the honey locust contain rock-hard seeds surrounded by a sugary pulp, an attraction for Native Americans who encouraged the growth of honey locust trees. Large animals like cattle are also attracted by the sweet pulp, and when the pods are eaten and the seeds are passed, successful germination increases tenfold. Cattle are not native to North America and the original dispersers of the honey locust were probably large, herbivorous mammals, such as mastodons and ground sloths, which went extinct 10,000 to 13,000 years ago.
Botany Break-Out
Until the trunk of a honey locust is about a foot in diameter, it is heavily armed with stout, needle-sharp, branching thorns—perhaps just strong enough to hold up a large hungry mammal in search of food.
