Honeylocust

Gleditsia triacanthos · Fabaceae · also Honey locust, Thornless honeylocust

A medium-large tree with a broad, flat-topped crown of fine, fern-like leaves that cast light, filtered shade and turn yellow in fall. Wild trees have fierce branched thorns and long twisted pods, but almost every nursery tree is a thornless, nearly seedless cultivar such as 'Skyline', 'Shademaster' or 'Imperial'. It was the standard replacement for American elms and was overplanted, so many cities now limit it, but it remains a tough, salt-tolerant street tree.