VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Gleditsia triacanthos | Honey-Locust 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
Honey-locust wood is dense, hard, coarse-grained, strong, stiff,
shock-resistant, takes a high polish, and is durable in contact with
soil [11,14,16,22,42].  Honey-locust wood is used locally for posts,
pallets, crates, general construction, furniture, interior finish,
turnery, and firewood [8,36].  It is useful, but is too scarce to be of
economic importance [8].


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Honey-locust pods are eaten by cattle, goats, white-tailed deer,
Virginia opossum, eastern gray squirrel, fox squirrel, rabbits, quail
(including northern bobwhite), crows, and starling [8,11].  White-tailed
deer frequently strip and eat the soft bark of young trees in winter
[36]; rabbits also consume honey-locust bark in winter [8].  Livestock
and white-tailed deer consume young vegetative growth [8,36].

Honey-locust is a source of pollen and nectar for honey [36].

In Virginia, honey-locust and other species were planted for mast
production on the margins of plots cleared and revegetated for wildlife
[28].  Honey-locust is planted into currently operating pastures and
hayfields to provide high-protein mast for livestock (a management
system termed browse agroforestry).  Cattle do not digest the seeds and
thus do not derive full nutritional benefit from consuming whole pods,
but ground honey-locust pods do provide a high-protein feed for cattle.
Sheep do digest the seeds, and therefore obtain more of the available
protein when consuming whole pods.  The open canopy of honey-locust
allows good growth of pasture grasses [43].


PALATABILITY : 
NO-ENTRY


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
Ground honey-locust seeds and pods contained 16.1 percent crude fiber
(as fed) and 9.3 percent protein [30].


COVER VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
Honey-locust pioneers on strip-mine spoil banks in the Midwest.  It
is often planted for erosion control [8].


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
Thornless honey-locust is widely planted as an ornamental [11],
particularly on dry sites [23].  Honey-locust is also widely used in
windbreaks and shelterbelts [8,36].

Honey-locust pods are being fermented for ethanol production in studies
to explore the feasibility of biomass fuels [4].

Honey-locust was one of a number of species planted to assess biomass
yield potential for short-rotation cropping.  Honey-locust showed good
survival through the fourth annual harvest [21].

Honey-locust pods are edible [5].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Rows of honey-locust planted for windbreaks showed a positive response
to release [9].

In some areas honey-locust invades rangelands.  Honey-locust is
susceptible to triclopyr and to a mixture of picloram and 2,4,-D [29].

Honey-locust is not usually subject to serious insect and disease
problems; however, with the increase in plantations of honey-locust,
there has been a concomitant increase in insect pests.  Honey-locust is
host to a number of leaf feeders including spider mites, white marked
tussock moth, and honey-locust plant bug.  The only serious disease of
honey-locust is a canker which is occasionally fatal [8].

Damage to young honey-locust is caused by rabbits gnawing the bark [8]
and by livestock and white-tailed deer browsing [8,36].

Related categories for Species: Gleditsia triacanthos | Honey-Locust