Dermatophyllum secundiflorum
Common name: 
Mescal Bean
Texas Mountain Laurel
Frijolito
Pronunciation: 
Der-ma-to-PHIL-um se-cun-da-FLOR-um
Family: 
Fabaceae
Genus: 
Dermatophyllum
Synonyms: 
Calia secundiflora
Sophora secundifora
Type: 
Broadleaf
Native to (or naturalized in) Oregon: 
No
  • Broadleaf, evergreen shrub 3 feet (0.9 m) tall, to tree-like, often with multiple trunks, to 33 feet (10 m) tall.  Leaves alternate, compound (pinnate), 3-5 pairs of leaflets, leaflets oblong to obovate, notched at tip, mid-green above, silvery and silky below.  Flowers pea-like, 2.5 cm long, violet-blue, fragrant, in terminal clusters (racemes) 3-5 cm long; blooms in spring.  Fruit oblong pod, pubescent, to 20 cm long, hard and woody, indehiscent pod that is somewhat constricted between the seeds, which are red and poisonous.
  • Sun and light shade, tolerates alkaline soil and intense heat.  The seeds are poisonous, so remove young fruit if children are present to prevent seed development.
  • Hardy to USDA Zone 7      Native to southeastern New Mexico to central and western Texas and adjacent Mexico. 
  • Taxonomy: Formerly this plant was know as Sophora secundiflora​.  Now the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS)  and the World Flora Online lists it as Dermatophyllum secundiflorum (Phytoneuron 57: 1–4.  2011).  Some authorities place this plant in the genus Calia, hence Calia secundiflora.
  • Only a few selections available, including:
  • secundiflorum: with flowers on one side of the stalk.
Click image to enlarge
  • plant habit, flowering

    plant habit, flowering

  • leaves

    leaves

  • leaf

    leaf

  • flower clusters

    flower clusters

  • plant habit, fruiting

    plant habit, fruiting

  • leaves and fruit cluster

    leaves and fruit cluster

  • fruit

    fruit

  • fruit and seeds

    fruit and seeds