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About Honey Locust Wood

By: Daniel L. Cassens, Professor and Extension Wood Products Specialist

Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907

Beneath the thorns of wild honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos L.) lies a beautiful coarse-grained, pink wood much like

red oak. Since saw log quality trees are not abundant, the species is not often traded in the wholesale market, but

sooner or later, every hardwood sawmill will likely produce some honey locust lumber.

The natural range of the species is from central Pennsylvania east to Nebraska south through east Texas and then back

to central Alabama and up the west side of the Appalachian mountains. This original range has been greatly extended by

urban tree planting of a thornless, podless variety particularly to the east.

The species prefers rich, moist bottom lands or soils of limestone origin, but it can persist in drought areas. It is normally

mixed with other bottom land hardwoods. Being well armed with thorns, the species also tends to invade old or unused

pastures and abandon fields.

Forest grown honey locust trees are medium-sized trees 70 to 80 feet tall and 2 to 3 feet in diameter. The largest living

tree reported is 6 feet in diameter at 4½ feet above the ground and 100 feet tall.

Wood Color and Texture: The wood is ring porous. The large earlywood pores abruptly change to small diameter thick-

walled cells. As a result, the wood has a grain pattern about like red oak. Some of the pores will be filled with dark

inclusions, but usually not to the extent that a dark objectionable streak develops. Unfinished heartwood is pink.

Sapwood is white. Small pin knots or pin knot clusters are common, probably from sprouts or where thorns were

attached to the main trunk. A small ray fleck about like that in cherry will appear on quartered surfaces. Vigorous open-

grown trees will be fast growth while older or suppressed trees can have quite a slow growth rate.

Decay Resistance: The wood is rated as resistant or very resistant to wood decay.

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About Honey Locust Wood By: Daniel L. Cassens, Professor and Extension Wood Products Specialist Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907 Beneath the thorns of wild honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos L.) lies a beautiful coarse-grained, pink wood much like red oak. Since saw log quality trees are not abundant, the species is not often traded in the wholesale market, but sooner or later, every hardwood sawmill will likely produce some honey locust lumber.