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Pod-bearers — Part 1

Unlike most of the pod-bearers, the honey locust has greenish, inconspicuous flowers, not of the pea-blossom form. The bees find them, as they are fragrant and nectar laden. The "honey" mentioned in the name is not in the flower but in the half-ripe fruit.

The Texan Honey Locust (G. Texana, Sarg.), with the characters given in the key, has so far been found only in one grove near Brazoria, Texas. It is a large, thornless tree, with thin, smooth bark.

The Water Locust (G. aquatica, Marsh.) is a small, flat-topped, irregular tree which grows best in the swamps just west of the lower Mississippi. It is found sparingly from South Carolina through the eastern Gulf States, and north as far as the Ohio River. The tree can easily be recognised by its brown polished thorns which are 3 to 5 inches long, pointed and stiff, and sometimes flattened, like the blade of a sword. The two lateral thorns arise close to the base of the main one.

The pods, which are usually but I-seeded, are oval and pointed, and much more thickly clustered than those of G. triacanthos. The wood is coarse and inferior to other locust, though it is heavy, hard and strong, and has been put to many uses.