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Honey Locust

Gleditsia triacanthos · Fabaceae
20m
Mature height
6
Councils: no permit needed
0
Councils: exempt under a height limit
14
Councils: permit required
Honey Locust (Gleditsia triacanthos) growing in Sydney
Honey Locust · typical mature form

Do you need a permit?

Honey Locust is exempt in some councils and protected in others, and several exemptions carry a height limit. Check the table below against the council for your address before assuming a permit is not needed.

How to identify it

Fine compound leaves that cast light dappled shade and turn clear yellow in autumn. The wild form carries clusters of long branched thorns on the trunk and limbs. Long twisted brown seed pods.

Where it grows in Sydney

Planted as a shade tree across the Inner West, City of Sydney, Hills District and Blacktown, with the thornless cultivars most common in gardens.

Common problems

  • Wild seedlings revert to the thorny form, which is genuinely hazardous
  • Seed pods and fine leaflets create constant litter
  • Suckers from the root system
  • Self seeds into bushland and creek lines

What removal involves

Exempt in Northern Beaches, Hornsby, City of Sydney, Inner West, Woollahra and Georges River. Where the tree has reverted to the thorny form, handling and clean up need particular care.

Council permit rules, council by council

Status below is for a tree on private land that has passed the council’s size threshold. Heritage items, heritage conservation areas, significant tree registers, biodiversity mapping and conditions of development consent override every exemption shown here.
Council
Status
What it means
Northern Beaches
No permit needed
On Council's exempt species list, so no permit is required for removal. Heritage items, heritage conservation areas and significant tree register listings still override the exemption. Official rules
Ku-ring-gai
Permit required
Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules
Hornsby Shire
No permit needed
On Council's exempt species list, so no permit is required for removal. Heritage items, heritage conservation areas and significant tree register listings still override the exemption. Official rules
The Hills Shire
Confirm with Council
Council holds its species exemptions in a document rather than on its website, so confirm this species with Council before treating removal as exempt. Size thresholds apply in the meantime. Official rules
Blacktown City
Permit required
Council does not run a species exemption list. A permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold, and each tree is assessed on its own merits. Official rules
North Sydney
Permit required
Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules
Willoughby
Permit required
Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules
Lane Cove
Permit required
Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules
City of Ryde
Permit required
Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules
Hunters Hill
Permit required
Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules
City of Sydney
No permit needed
On Council's exempt species list, so no permit is required for removal. Heritage items, heritage conservation areas and significant tree register listings still override the exemption. Official rules
Inner West
No permit needed
On Council's exempt species list, so no permit is required for removal. Heritage items, heritage conservation areas and significant tree register listings still override the exemption. Official rules
Woollahra
No permit needed
On Council's exempt species list, so no permit is required for removal. Heritage items, heritage conservation areas and significant tree register listings still override the exemption. Official rules
Waverley
Permit required
Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules
Randwick
Permit required
Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules
Bayside
Permit required
Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules
Georges River
No permit needed
On Council's exempt species list, so no permit is required for removal. Heritage items, heritage conservation areas and significant tree register listings still override the exemption. Official rules
Strathfield
Permit required
Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules
Burwood
Confirm with Council
Council holds its species exemptions in a document rather than on its website, so confirm this species with Council before treating removal as exempt. Size thresholds apply in the meantime. Official rules
Canterbury-Bankstown
Permit required
Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules
Mine has no thorns. Is it still the same tree?

Most garden specimens are thornless cultivars. Seedlings from them frequently revert to the thorny wild form, which is why a self sown Honey Locust can be far more hazardous than its parent.

Commonly confused with

Golden Robinia
Check the thorns. Wild Honey Locust carries branched spines on the trunk

Related species

Golden Robinia (Robinia pseudoacacia 'Frisia') growing in Sydney
Golden Robinia
Robinia pseudoacacia 'Frisia'
Coral Tree (Erythrina x sykesii) growing in Sydney
Coral Tree
Erythrina x sykesii
African Olive (Olea europaea subsp. cuspidata) growing in Sydney
African Olive
Olea europaea subsp. cuspidata
Athel Tree (Tamarix aphylla) growing in Sydney
Athel Tree
Tamarix aphylla

Important note on council rules

This encyclopedia is a practical guide for Sydney property owners, not legal advice. Council tree rules change, and exemptions are frequently overridden by heritage listings, heritage conservation areas, significant tree registers, biodiversity mapping, endangered ecological communities and conditions attached to development consent. Always confirm the current rules with your council for your specific address before any tree work begins, or ask us to check it for you.
Photo by Bostonian13 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Quick facts

Botanical name
Gleditsia triacanthos
Also known as
Thornless Honey Locust
Family
Fabaceae
Origin
North America
Mature height
10m to 20m
Canopy spread
10m to 15m
Growth rate
Fast
Foliage
Deciduous, fine compound, golden in autumn
Typical lifespan
60 years plus
Root habit
Spreading and suckering
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