What does a locust tree look like??

[larman]

last year i found a dozer pile all locust great burning heii on tires used up 1 new chain for 1 burning season llllike i said dozer pile so lots of dirt on the trees!
larry

 

[n9emz]

Here's four that are coming down in the next couple of weeks.

 

[KsWoodsMan]

wonder why that tree would grow such defensive thorns to protect itself.......

The pulp of the seed pod is very sweet and nutritious. Without the thorns the critters would be up there eating away at them and the seed would never mature to be able to germinate.

This is one tree that definitely requires PPE anytime you get even close to it.

 

[SWI Don]

About half my wood for this season is honeylocust. The stuff I got was girdled and dropped via excavator and then flooded on. Plenty of sand in the bark. It was hard on chains for sure.

These trees had been dead long enough that the thorns were not as much of an issue. Dad's pasture is full of ones that still have a full complement of them for me to drop.

Don

 

[AOD]

A sharp axe or hatchet should make quick work of those thorns. Not as bad as a hawthorn though.....

 

[turnkey4099]

^^^ What? Easy to split? Maybe if you have a splitter... Wet it splits okay, dry its like splitting atoms!

Musst be several different varieties of Black Locust then. I have even split fence posts out of it with no problem. The stuff I worked up (and still am) split very easy with just the maul (except for crotches/knots). Getting big, green rounds split in half can be a problem as a wedge tends to be hard to get started...tap, tap, tap, swing and it bounces out. I have had to make a shallow kerf a few times just to start the wedge. Once the wedge sticks though, no problem.

Hard to split dry? I find it is even easier, It checks badly when it dries, Just hit a check and it falls apart.

Harry K

 

[ken45]

A sharp axe or hatchet should make quick work of those thorns.

But THEN what? It's on the ground that worries me the most, both for our horses as well as tractor tires.

Ken

 

[cityevader]

:jawdrop:

I've never seen anything like this!!!! What a wicked looking tree!!!

And really, how DO you catch/dispose of all the thorns? Lay out a tarp and hatchet them onto it?

 

[I LOVE FIREWOOD]

All locust trees must not have thorns on them right? Because someone that I know had four trees blown down that were real tall and about 2-3' around and when I went and looked at them I toold him that I didn't want because I didn't know what was because they didn't have thorns on them, and he called me back a couple days later and said someone asked if he could cut up the tree for firewood and he said that were locust trees, Moral of the story is I lost out because I didn't know the tree because it didn't have thorns on it.

 

[PA Plumber]

All locust trees must not have thorns on them right? Because someone that I know had four trees blown down that were real tall and about 2-3' around and when I went and looked at them I toold him that I didn't want because I didn't know what was because they didn't have thorns on them, and he called me back a couple days later and said someone asked if he could cut up the tree for firewood and he said that were locust trees, Moral of the story is I lost out because I didn't know the tree because it didn't have thorns on it.

I believe there are some hybrids that do not have thorns. Our neighbor across the street has a very Locusty looking tree, but nary a thorn.

 

[Peacock]

I believe there are some hybrids that do not have thorns. Our neighbor across the street has a very Locusty looking tree, but nary a thorn.

Here is a thornless honey locust.

 

[PA Plumber]

Here is a thornless honey locust.

That bark is very similar to our neighbor's tree.

 

[Bowtie]

I dont know if this is true or not, but I have heard that the male species of Honey Locust does not produce thorns. The female species does. I do know that there are a lot of honey locusts here in Kansas that dont produce thorns, but are vastly out numbered by the thorny variety.

 

[PA Plumber]

I dont know if this is true or not, but I have heard that the male species of Honey Locust does not produce thorns. The female species does. I do know that there are a lot of honey locusts here in Kansas that dont produce thorns, but are vastly out numbered by the thorny variety.

I've heard that about the males and females also, but have not researched it.

Just for the record...

The Honey Locust has the thorn clusters and the Black locust has thorns only on the upper branches, not the trunk?

As far as BTU, I would guess that Locust is Locust? Or is one more dense than the other?

 

[ken45]

All locust trees must not have thorns on them right? Because someone that I know had four trees blown down that were real tall and about 2-3' around and when I went and looked at them I toold him that I didn't want because I didn't know what was because they didn't have thorns on them, and he called me back a couple days later and said someone asked if he could cut up the tree for firewood and he said that were locust trees, Moral of the story is I lost out because I didn't know the tree because it didn't have thorns on it.

There are "thornless honeylocust" varieties sold in nurseries. I planted one ("Shademaster" IIRC) in the yard where we lived 30 years ago. It might be worthwhile size by now!

Ken

 

[fbh31118]

^^^ What? Easy to split? Maybe if you have a splitter... Wet it splits okay, dry its like splitting atoms!

:agree2:

I've got a double lot full of that junk. It grows like a weed, will make you look like you've been in a knife fight down town and if your brave is a great source of heat. Love to burn it just hate to cut it.

 

[Peacock]

So, you guys are telling me that it's the female that is hard to get along with?


:censored:

 

[turnkey4099]

The Black Loust (at least around here) only has thorns on the young wood. One year old growth is full of them. Not sure how many years it takes forthe thorns to disappear.

Harry K

 

[KsWoodsMan]

I think the 'thornless' varietys are a cultivar or hybrid cross. They can cross in the wild. Usually there is some human intervention, they bloom at slightly different times of the year.

BL can be crossed with a Bristly Locust shrub and is considered a tree instead of a shrub. The thornless cultivar is an ornamental. It has a more spreading crown than BL and a similar look just not the heigth of a BL. The flower is Pink instead of white or purple.

BL thorns are bark attatched. When the course bark under them sheds, the thorn goes with it. HL thorns continue to grow the entire life of the tree.

Around the corner from me are a few Thornless Honey Locusts. They caught my attention last Winter because of the bark. I just had to stop and look at them to be sure of what they were. Sure enougn come Spring they put on Locust leaves. I have been waiting to get seed pods. Still havent seen one yet. If I want one bad enough I could just get a cutting and hope for the best. I sure hope my chainsaw doesnt wake them up.

 

[turnkey4099]

I think the 'thornless' varietys are a cultivar or hybrid cross. They can cross in the wild. Usually there is some human intervention, they bloom at slightly different times of the year.

BL can be crossed with a Bristly Locust shrub and is considered a tree instead of a shrub. The thornless cultivar is an ornamental. It has a more spreading crown than BL and a similar look just not the heigth of a BL. The flower is Pink instead of white or purple.

BL thorns are bark attatched. When the course bark under them sheds, the thorn goes with it. HL thorns continue to grow the entire life of the tree.

Around the corner from me are a few Thornless Honey Locusts. They caught my attention last Winter because of the bark. I just had to stop and look at them to be sure of what they were. Sure enougn come Spring they put on Locust leaves. I have been waiting to get seed pods. Still havent seen one yet. If I want one bad enough I could just get a cutting and hope for the best. I sure hope my chainsaw doesnt wake them up.

Hmmm...I'll have to go check the ones I planted way back when. At least one of them puts out those huge seed pods but I don't recall if there are thorns on the tree. If I find some seed pods and no thorns, do you want the pods? I'm not sure now if they are Honey Locust though, I ordered Black Locust but got these instead.

Harry K