Description and Uses
Gleditsia ferox (Chinese honey locust) is a
temperate
tree from
North China . It is mainly grown for its
timber crops
, which have a
long shelf life. The crop is harvested by
total removing. It starts flowering after
5 -
6 years. The yield will be
350 kg pods/y, but in its top season there will be a yield of
30m/tree after 55 years. Other crop types include;
vegetable, . The
seed/nut is used as
spice . The
seed/nut is used as "
plant part " with
Galactose (20 -
22%) as its significant
phytochemical. There is
ferox locust oil extracted by
solvent extraction from the
tree's
seed/nut yielding
1% -
5% oil. The
tree's wood is called
Ferox locust wood and has a density of
700 -
800 kg/m³. Regarding firewood production the
tree's growing speed is
fast, it's energetic value is
4000 ckal/kg and the wood's drying speed is
medium. After
55 years the
tree can be totally removed as it reached its commercial and ecological goal.
Gleditsia ferox has a lifespan of
110 years.
Environmental limitations
The tree is
30 meters tall with a crown of
20 meters wide. The
tree prefers a planting distance of
600 cm and a row distance of
600 cm. It is
very fast growing and
partial shade tolerant.
Gleditsia ferox has a
deep root-system and it has symbiotic associations with the
Glomus intraradices fungi
(endo-mycorrhiza). It is
able to fix nitrogen moderately with
"Rhizobiaceae bacteria. The name(s) or string of bacteria include(s)
"Rhizobium mongolense ". The
tree's flower-morphology is
polygamomonoecious and is pollinated by
bees.
Gleditsia ferox is
deciduous in winter and
not allelopathic and has
thorns.
Gleditsia ferox thrives in an altitude of
0 to
900 meters above sea-level
(temperate). The minimum temperature is
-35°C; optimally between
13 -
30°C. The optimal rainfall is
1300
mm/year. Without irrigation the annual rainfall should be between
500 -
1600mm (L/m²). The optimal soil-pH is between
5.0 -
8.0 in a soil texture of
sand. To salt it is
a bit tolerant to wind
tolerant and to fire
a bit tolerant.
Pests and Diseases
Gleditsia ferox is susceptible to the following pests:
Eotetranychus tiliarium
, Eotetranychus multidigituli
, Amblycerus robiniae
. And it's susceptible to the following diseases:
Collar rot ,
Twig cancer ,
.
Seed Propagation
Seeds are
stratificant and can be stored for
14 months. There are approximative
4400
seeds/kg. The seeds can be propagated as followed:
- (1) Store harvested seeds moisty at a chilling temperature of 3-7 degrees C for 2-4 months
- (2) Soak the seeds overnight in warm water before sowing.
- (3) Remove the seeds from cold to a permanent warm temperature.