Parkinsonia microphyllum
Common name:
Littleleaf Palo Verde
Foothill Palo Verde
Yellow Palo Verde
Pronunciation:
PAR-kin-son-EE-a mi-krow-FIE-lum
Family:
Fabaceae
Genus:
Synonyms:
Cercidium microphyllum
Type:
Broadleaf
Native to (or naturalized in) Oregon:
No
- Drought-deciduous shrub or small tree, slow-growing, to 25 ft (7.6 m) tall, about half or more wide, irregular shape, often multi-stemmed and low branched, spiny, ascending and spreading branches, trunk may reach 0.3 m in diameter, bark is smooth, thin, greenish and photosynthetic. Leaves alternate, pinnately compound (even), 3-6.5 cm long; leaflets minute, yellow-green, in pairs (leafless most of the year). Flowers usually cream-white, small (about 12 mm), in 3 cm long clusters. Fruits 4-8 cm long flat pods, often ending in a spine, 1-5 seeds (edible when young and green), constrictions between the seeds.
- Sun, well-drained soil, little or no additional water required after establishment, although summer irrigation increases growth rate and leaf retention. May be afflicted with root borers and mistletoe.
- Hardy to USDA Zone 8b Native range through central and southwestern Arizona, a few populations in southeastern California, and extending southward through Sonora and Baja California, Mexico. Most often found on rocky slopes of the foothills of desert mountains.
- Parkinsonia microphyllum is now considered the accepted name and Cercidium microphyllum a synonym.
Click image to enlarge
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plant habit, in habitat
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base of tree with an observer
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plant habit, in habitat
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plant habit
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branches
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branches and leaves
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expanding leaves and thorn
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leaves
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fruit
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trunk, bark
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plant with desert mistletoe, a hemi-parasitic plant
