- Scientific Name: Gleditsia sinensis Lam.
- Ref: Encycl. 2:465. 1788
- Synonyms:
- Caesalpiniodes macracanthum (Desf.) Kuntze
- Gleditsia fontanesii Spach
- G. horrida Willd.
- G. indica Pers.
- G. macracantha Desf.
- G. nana Dippel
- G. officinalis Hemsl.
- G. xylocarpa Hance
- Gymnocladus williamsii Hance
- English Common Name: Chinese honey locust
- Chinese Common Name: 皂荚 zàojiá, 皂荚树 zàojiá∙shù, 皂角 zàojiǎo
- Japanese Common Name: トウサイカチ [唐皁莢] tōsaikachi
- Family: Fabaceae
- Genus: Gleditsia
- Distribution: Mountain slopes, forests, valleys, near roads; 200-2500 m. Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, ?Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Zhejiang.
Trees or small trees, to 30 m tall. Branches grayish to deep brown. Spines robust, terete, conical, to 16 cm, often branched. Leaves pinnate, 10-18(-26) cm; petiolules 1-2(-5) mm, puberulent; leaflets (2 or)3-9 pairs, ovate-lanceolate to oblong, 2-8.5(-12.5) × 1-4(-6) cm, papery, abaxially slightly pubescent on midvein, adaxially puberulent, reticulate veinlets conspicuously raised on both surfaces, base rounded or cuneate, sometimes slightly oblique, margin serrate, apex acute or acuminate, tip rounded, mucronate. Flowers polygamous, yellowish white, in axillary or terminal, puberulent racemes 5-14 cm. Male flowers: 9-10 mm in diam.; pedicels 2-8(-10) mm; receptacle deep brown, 2.5-3 mm, outside pubescent; sepals 4, triangular-lanceolate, ca. 3 mm, both sides pubescent; petals 4, oblong, 4-5 mm, puberulent; stamens (6-)8; rudimentary pistil ca. 2.5 mm. Bisexual flowers: 10-12 mm in diam.; pedicels 2-5 mm; sepals and petals similar to those of male flowers but longer; stamens 8; ovary hairy at base and on sutures; ovules numerous; stigma 2-lobed. Legume brown or reddish brown, curved, strap-shaped, 12-37 × 2-4 cm, straight or twisted, with slightly thick pulp, swollen on both surfaces, some legumes shorter and smaller, ± terete, 5-13 × 1-1.5 cm, without seeds; stipe 1-3.5 cm; valves leathery, often farinose. Seeds numerous, brown, shiny, oblong or elliptic, 11-13 × 8-9 mm. Fl. Mar-May, fr. May-Dec. 2n = 28*. (Flora of China)
