Parkinsonia aculeata

"Mexican Palo Verde"

This floriferous desert tree really puts on a show when it is in bloom. The fragrant yellow flowers with orange markings smother the tree twice a year. Bees produce an excellent honey from the flowers. The spreading, somewhat weeping crown of the tree is made up of slender twigs & very small leaves. The leaves appear during periods of moisture & drop off during drought. The tree is still able to photosynthesize (make food) without leaves because of all chlorophyll in the green colored trunk and branches. By dropping its leaves it is able to reduce the amount of water lost because of transpiration (plant sweat). Because of this it does drop a fair amount of litter, so it is best planted in the middle of a bed so you don’t have to be sweeping all the time. It has thorns too, so all the more reason to keep it away from pathways. It would make an excellent barrier through. Native to parts of South America, it is drought & heat tolerant. In fact, it prefers heat. Grows to be about 25’ tall.

Kelly Kilpatrick
Propagator