Spherical acacia and gleditsia: How to tell them apart?

In our city’s parks, along streets, and in front of buildings, one can often see trees that delight the eye with their beauty. Each of them has its own unique features and name.

The leaf with which we all played "he loves me, he loves me not" in childhood is often mistaken for an acacia leaf. In fact, it belongs to the gleditsia tree. Gleditsia has pod-like fruits 20–40 centimeters long that rustle loudly on the branches in the autumn wind.

Another tree distinguished by its beauty is the spherical acacia. Its scientific name is Robinia pseudoacacia 'Umbraculifera'. This tree is grown by grafting onto the trunk of a common black locust.

The height of the spherical acacia reaches 3–5 meters, and on its petioles up to 25 centimeters long, there are about 20 green leaflets. The main feature that distinguishes it from other trees is its dense, naturally formed spherical "cap." Due to its thick canopy, the tree looks as though a neat cap was specially placed on a straight trunk. Remarkably, this rounded shape forms naturally, without any special pruning.

Thanks to its magnificent appearance and natural charm, the spherical acacia is one of the best ornamental trees decorating our parks and streets.