Although identifiable in the wild by sharp, smooth, branched thorns on its trunk and branches, some commercial varieties are thornless. Leaves are arranged alternately and are once-or-twice-pinnately compound. The fruit is a long, flattened, corkscrew twisting, dark brown pod (up to eight inches) containing sweet, honey-like pulp eagerly eaten by cattle, deer, and other mammals. Highly adaptable and tolerant of drought conditions, this tree has encroached as a pasture weed in some areas.