Bark of Honey Locust tree #287 (Photos by A. Holmes 10/18/2019)
Flowers: Fringe tree blooms from May to June. Flowers are white and fragrant, about 1 inch long, with four long "fringed" petals that hang in showy clusters. Male and female flowers are produced on separate trees, and have a strong, very pleasant fragrance. From a distance, fringe tree flowers resemble a long-white beard, hence the common name "Old Man's Beard".
Flower of Honey locust tree (Creative Commons Image,By Lazaregagnidze - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, 2006)
Fruits: Female trees produce clusters of dark blue, oval-shaped fruits in late summer. Each fruit is less than an inch long and has a hard, stony pit. Botanically, this fruit type is known as a "drupe". Fruits are an important food source for many birds and wildlife species.
Native range and habitat: Fringe tree is native to nutrient-rich, moist and dry forests, limestone glades, stream banks, and rocky bluffs throughout eastern and south-central North America. Its natural range extends from New York, south to Florida, and west to Texas. In Virginia, fringe tree occurs as a native tree or shrub in nearly all counties of the state.
Distribution of Honey locust in Virginia. The Honey locust is native to the midwest, however, it is uncertain if the Honey locust is native to Virginia (Virginia Botanical Associates, 2019)
Distribution of Honey Locust across the country and into Canada (USDA plant database, 2019)
Plant Family:
Ecologic Importance and Uses:
Edible and Medicinal Uses:
Wildlife:
Gardens and Landscaping:
References
Elpel, T. J. (2018). Botany in a Day: The Patterns Method of Plant Identification, Edition 6.1. Hops Press, Pony, MT.
Virginia Tech Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation. (2019). Fringe Tree Fact Sheet, Virginia Tech Dendrology. dendro.cnre.vt.edu/DENDROLOGY/factsheets.cfm
Page created by: Angie Holmes, Radford University (2019).