Gleditsia triacanthos - Honey Locust
Commonly used as a street tree, Honey Locust trees are unmistakable in the fall with bright yellow foliage and dark brown trunks. It has a fast growth rate, growing 2 feet or more during a growing season for the first 10 years and can grow to a height of 70 to 80 feet tall. The 12” long brown leathery seed pods are a hint that the tree is in the Fabaceae plant family along with peas, beans, and other legumes. The trunk and branches have large thorns, 3”-4” long, that can be either solidary or three-branched. These thorns were once used as nails for the construction of barns and other buildings. The fleshy pulp of the bean pods is edible and has a sweet, honey-like taste. This is where the Honey Locust gets its name. A useful tree for indigenous people, the Cherokee were believed to have used the Honey Locust as a source of food and wood, creating bows, tools, and carved games for their children.
Maurice BP-Weeks
Co-Executive Director, ACRE - Action Center on Race and the Economy
Maurice is the Co-Executive Director of ACRE. He works with community organizations and labor unions on campaigns to go on offense against Wall Street to beat back their destruction of communities of color. He was previously the Campaign Director of the ReFund America Project and worked as the Wall Street Accountability and Housing Justice campaigner at the Center for Popular Democracy before that. Maurice serves on the Advisory Council of Black Organizing for Leadership and Dignity (BOLD). He graduated from Swarthmore College.
Maurice’s favorite tree:
“Maple tree.”
This Exhibit Took Place Along the Detroit Riverfront September 1-30