Palo verde | Desert, Blooms, Thorny (2024)

palo verde, (genus Parkinsonia), (Spanish: “green stick”), any of about 12 species of green trees and shrubs in the pea family (Fabaceae). Palo verde species are scattered throughout the arid regions of the southwestern United States, Mexico, Central America, and Venezuela. The plants are commonly used in desert landscaping, and several have been important traditional sources of tannin for leatherwork.

Palo verde species are often intricately branched with smooth, conspicuously green bark. The minute compound leaves are drought-deciduous, meaning they fall after the rainy season. The bright yellow flowers, borne in clusters, are followed by beanlike pods.

Britannica Quiz

Plants: From Cute to Carnivorous

Blue palo verde (Parkinsonia florida) is a bushy tree that grows up to 9 metres (30 feet) high. It is found in desert areas of southern California, Arizona, and northwestern Mexico, including the Baja California peninsula, and is a characteristic woody plant along washes in the Colorado desert. It features cylindrical legumes. Border palo verde (P. texana), a Mexican tree, grows only as far north as southeastern Texas. It is readily distinguished from the blue palo verde by its flattened podlike fruits. Mexican palo verde (Parkinsonia aculeata) occurs in southwestern Arizona and from Texas to Florida.