Honey Locust

Gleditsia triacanthos

Found in woodlands, forests (generally bottomland), fencerows, often planted as a street tree. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

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Native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?

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Height: 60–80 feet
Spread: 60–80 feet
Light: Full sun, Partial shade
Soil moisture: Usually moist

Space about 30 ft apart from its recorded spread. Enter your bed size for a count

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Gleditsia triacanthos — bloom photograph — Hannes wilms · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Original photograph

At a glance

Life cycle: Woody perennial
Leaves: Deciduous
Bloom: April and June
Fruiting season: July to November

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Recorded in 46 Alabama counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 2

Named place / source context. Shown: Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, Georgia, a neighboring state.Trail on Little Kennesaw Mountain., Unidentified in HFC record, undated. Public domain. Source record.

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

42CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL

Genus host records with ranges including AL · Gleditsia

Epargyreus clarusSilver-spotted Skipper
Achatia distinctaDistinct Quaker
Amyelois transitellaNavel Orangeworm
Anavitrinella pampinariaCommon Gray, Cranberry Spanworm
Antheraea polyphemusPolyphemus Moth
Automeris ioIo Moth
Biston betulariaSalt-and-Pepper Geometer, Cleft-Headed Looper
Catocala clintoniiClinton's Underwing
Catocala illectaMagdalen Underwing
Catocala innubensThe Betrothed

Show all 42

Catocala minutaLittle Underwing
Coelodasys unicornisUnicorn Caterpillar Moth
Datana ministraYellow-Necked Caterpillar Moth
Digrammia ocellinataFaint-Spotted Angle
Eacles imperialisImperial Moth, Imperial Spiny Caterpillar
Erannis tiliariaLinden Looper Moth, Western Winter Moth, Lime Looper
Halysidota tessellarisBanded Tussock Moth, Pale Tiger Moth
Heliomata cycladataCommon Spring Moth, Stout Locust Looper
Heteropacha rileyanaRiley's Lappet Moth
Hyalophora cecropiaCecropia Silkmoth, Cecropia Moth
Hyphantria cuneaFall Webworm
Kocakina fidelisIntractable Quaker, Green Fruitworm, Fourlined Green Fruitworm
Lithacodes fasciolaYellow-Shouldered Slug
Machimia tentoriferellaGold-Striped Leaftier Moth
Melanolophia canadariaCanadian Melanolphia, Variable Redmarked Looper
Mellilla xanthometataOrange Wing
Orgyia leucostigmaWhite-Marked Tussock Moth
Paleacrita vernataSpring Cankerworm Moth
Pandemis lamprosanaWoodgrain Leafroller
Pococera asperatellaMaple Webworm
Rudenia leguminanaBlack-Tipped Rudenia Moth
Schizura ipomaeaeMorning-Glory Prominent, Checkered-Fringe Prominent
Sparganothis sulfureanaSparganothis Fruitworm Moth, Sulfur Leafroller, False Yellow-Head
Spiloloma lunilineaMoon-Lined Moth
Syssphinx bicolorHoney Locust Moth
Syssphinx bisectaBisected Honey Locust Moth
Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformisEvergreen Bagworm Moth
Tlascala reductellaTlascala Moth, Honey Locust Leafroller
Uresiphita reversalisGenista Caterpillar, Genista Cbroom Moth
Zale undularisBlack Zale
Pococera humerella
Sinoe robiniella

Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)

0BeesSoutheastern regional records

0Specialist beesPollen specialists

—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Flies 1

Rhamphomyia mutabilis

Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family: Fabaceae
Hardiness: Zones 3a–8b
Soil pH: Acidic to alkaline
Flower color: Yellow or green
Growth rate: Rapid
Growth habit: Single crown
Foliage color: Green
Fruit begins: July
Fruit ends: November

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope

Bloom · “April to early June” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
Flower color · “Yellow or green” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs)
Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
Fruit begins · “July” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
Fruit ends · “November” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
Growth habit · “Single crown” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
Growth rate · “Rapid” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
Hardiness · “Zones 3a–8b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Height · “60–80 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS, Minnesota Wildflowers differ)
Leaves · “Deciduous” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Life cycle · “Woody perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards differs)
Soil · “Moist” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards differs)
Soil pH · “Acidic to alkaline” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Spread · “60–80 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox

Conservation status

Alabama rank	SNR
Global rank	G5
AL status	Not verified
Federal status	Not verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

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Honey Locust

At a glance

Natural habitats

Who uses this plant?

Plant details

Conservation status

Will it fit your yard?

Sources

More Gleditsia