Gleditsia texana Sarg.

  • Authority

    Isley, Duane. 1975. Leguminosae of the United States: II. Subfamily Caesalpinioideae. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 25 (2): 1-228.

  • Family

    Caesalpiniaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Gleditsia x texana Sarg.

  • Description

    Species Description - Armed or unarmed tree variously intermediate between G. triacanthos and G. aquatica. Leafstalk glabrate to slightly puberulent; leaflets of 2-pinnate leaves .8-1.5 cm, of 1-pinnate leaves 1.2-3(-4.5) cm, slightly to conspicuously crenulate. Pod slenderly stipitate, oblong, flat, 9-15 cm long, 2-3 cm wide, tapering to apiculate tip above, tapering or rounded below; valves dry, not striate, scarcely twisting or contorting at maturity. Seeds ca 1 cm diam.

  • Discussion

    G. hebecarpa McCoy (1959) Circumstantial evidence has suggested that G. x texana is of hybrid origin (e.g. Sargent, 1922), and it is so treated by Gordon (1966). It is intermediate between G. triacanthos and G. aquatica both in fruit and foliage characters and its sporadic occurrence lies entirely within the sympatric area of the putative parents. Gordon (1966) was successful in making crosses but could scarcely, within thesis time-limits, grow progeny to flowering. Gleditsia hebecarpa McCoy (1959) was described from a single tree in Indiana. McCoy compared his plant with G. triacanthos and G. x texana from Indiana and Texas, stating “None was similar to the specimen I found in Knox Co., Indiana.” Gordon (1966) assigns it to G. triacanthos. But the pods of the McCoy specimen lack the succulence of typical G. triacanthos and tend towards the intermediate length-range of G. X texana. And G. hebecarpa comes from the northern tip of the Mississippi Valley range of G. aquatica. I think it is likely it represents another chance hybrid.

  • Distribution

    Sporadic and rare: specimens from Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi, n Florida, Louisiana, Indiana, South Carolina.

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