The leaves of Gleditsia triacanthos are alternate and compound and some leaves may be twice-compound. Wild plants usually have thorns, sometimes very large, branched thorns, but the commonest horticultural varieties are thornless. The fruits are obvious legumes up to 40 cm long.

Gleditsia triacanthos grows from eastern Texas to southeastern South Dakota and southernmost Minnesota, east to Alabama and Pennsylvania. In Wisconsin it is found primarily in the southern counties and most wild populations are associated with the Mississippi and Wisconsin rivers.