The iron wood tree is common here in Ky but I have never seen them got much higher than 20'. The only tree in this neck of the woods with long thorns as Ken describes is a Honey Locust. Those thorns will flatten a tractor tire.

We still take a branch and put gumdrops on every thorn for the revered Yule gumdrop tree........ a product of depression era creativity passed down from my parents.

Hop hornbeam sounds kinda right... can you see if younger versions that don't get past the 10-15' growth have long thorns. I am curious if it was because they felt repressed by the canopy of the surrounding trees and were fighting back to claim their territory.

thnx,
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