Honeylocust is an uncommon, medium-large tree of waste places and edges, introduced from the mid-western US. The leaves are either pinnately or bi-pinnately compound, with many small, oval leaflets on each leaf. The main leaf at left is bi-pinnate and has 154 leaflets! (Yes, I counted them.)

Chatham Co., NC 6/28/09.

Chatham Co., NC 6/28/09.

Granville Co., NC 4/26/09.

Leaves are sometimes just once-pinnately compound, as here. Black Locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) is the most similar species, but has much smaller thorns and smaller pods.

The large, wicked thorns are often forked. Some cultivars are thornless.

Durham Co., NC 12/6/08.

Durham Co., NC 12/6/08.

Durham Co., NC 8/19/07.

Durham Co., NC 8/19/07.

The pods are broad, long, and twisted.

Chatham Co., NC 6/28/09.

The pods turn black when ripe and contain a sweet-tasting sticky substance that gives Honeylocust its common name.

Orange Co., NC 12/27/09.

Durham Co., NC 8/19/07.

Durham Co., NC 8/19/07.

The bark of small trees soon breaks into plates.

Orange Co., NC 1/11/09.

Orange Co., NC 1/11/09.

The trunks of open-grown trees can be quite heavily armed.

The bark on large trees breaks into long ridges.

Bark of a large tree.

Granville Co., NC 4/26/09.