Blue Paloverde

(Fabaceae Cercidium floridum)
Adopted in 1954.
The Palo Verde Tree, Fabaceae
Cercidium floridum, was selected by
the Legislature as the official state
tree in 1954. Palo Verde is from the
Spanish meaning "green stick" or "green
pole." It is found in the desert and
desert foothill regions of Arizona.
When the Palo Verde tree blooms,
either in April or May depending on the
elevation, it is a blaze of shimmering
yellow-gold. Two species are native to
Arizona: the Blue Palo Verde and the
Foothill Palo Verde which is
yellow-green.
Deciduous tree, 30', flowers yellow,
Mar.-May, green bark, tree bare most of
the year, lower deserts of Ca., Ariz.,
full sun, drought tolerant, needs
perfect drainage and no summer water,
seeds may be ground into edible meal .
Cold hardy to somewhere about 10 degrees
F. We've had some killed in containers
at 15 degrees F., others tolerant to
below 10 degrees F. This species has the
funny trait of forming water-repellent
soils under it. By not allowing the
water to stay under it and shedding the
water out to its drip line it can out
compete even the annuals. That is why
you find few plants under Cercidium,
mostly only the ones that are
mycorrhizally linked to the Cercidium.
Desert washes in Creosote woodland.
Description:
- Form: low multistemmed
tree, rounded crown
- Seasonality: deciduous
(in drought or cold)
- Size: 15-30ft with equal
spread; growth rate varies with
water supply
- Leaves: bipinnately
compound, in pairs, about 1/2in long
with leaflets of 1/4 to 1/8in; often
leafless most of the year
- Flowers: bright yellow
pea-like blooms cover entire tree;
first Cercidium to bloom in spring
- Fruit: flat pod, single
or multiple seeded; brown bleaching
to white with age; 1.5-3in long
- Stems/Trunks: normally
green, growing more gray or dark and
rough with age; tree has overall
bluish cast; dense growth; small
thorns
- Range/Origin: Sonoran and
Mohave deserts, Baja California;
elevations to 4000ft
- Hardiness: mid to low
teens
Taxonomic Hierarchy
|
Kingdom |
Plantae -- Plants |
Subkingdom |
Tracheobionta -- Vascular
plants |
Superdivision |
Spermatophyta – Seed plants |
Division |
Magnoliophyta – Flowering
plants |
Class |
Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons |
Subclass |
Rosidae – |
Order |
Fabales – |
Family |
Fabaceae – Pea family |
Genus |
Parkinsonia L. –
paloverde |
Species |
Parkinsonia florida
(Benth. ex Gray) S. Wats. –
blue paloverde |
Source:
Pima County Home Horticulture
Books about the Fabaceae Cercidium floridum
(The Palo Verde Tree)
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