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Re: [nafex] honeylocust pods
Lucky Pittman wrote:
>
> At 11:14 AM 01/06/2001 -0600, Keith wrote:
>
> > Does anyone on this list have any experiance regarding the
> > utilization of whole honeylocust pods by goats?
>
>. . .the seeds generally pass through the
> ruminant digestive tract unharmed, germinating wherever they are
> deposited, leading, eventually, to numerous punctured truck, tractor,
> and ATV tires.
> Even with the 'thornless' honeylocust selections, a certain percentage
> of the seedlings will revert to the 'thorny' phenotype, and cattle
> usually are reluctant to browse the thorny little buggers - goats
> probably will relish them, though.
According to an article in Arnoldia recently (quarterly publication or
the Arnold Arboretum) there is no such thing as a thornless
honeylocust. Growing thorns is juvenile behavior - at a certain age,
they quit. If you graft part of a mature honeylocust, it will not
usually revert to juvenile behavior - voila, a thornless yard tree.
This is the same mechanism that leads to earlier fruiting of grafted
apples than of seedlings, even onto ordinary rootstock. I suppose
"thornless" varieties have less tendency to revert than some others, but
all honeylocusts can be expected to bear "thorny" seedlings.
> They're not for everyone, and they're certainly not for me.
> Honeylocust is a member of my unholy trinity of most hated trees.
> Lucky Pittman
> USDA Zone 6
> Hopkinsville, KY
Lucky, what are the other two?
Ginda Fisher