Description

Gleditsia (lat. Gleditsia) is a genus of plants of the legume family (Fabaceae), which includes about fifteen species of trees originating from North America, Asia and Africa. The genus is named after Gottlieb Gleditsch (German: Johann Gottlieb Gleditsch [de], 1714-1786), a German physician and botanist, director of the Berlin Botanical Garden. Gledichia are deciduous sprawling trees up to 25 meters high. Plants usually have thorns. The leaves are doubly pinnate, consist of 20-30 leaflets. Flowers small, greenish. The fruits are beans.