Parkinsonia florida

Wiggins 1964, Benson and Darrow 1981, Kearney and Peebles 1969

Common Name: blue paloverde Duration: Perennial Nativity: Native Lifeform: Tree General: Large shrubs to small trees reaching 7-10 m tall with a well-developed trunk. Small straight spines borne singly at nodes. Bark of twigs and branches bluish green, while older trunks are often gray. Leaves: Leaves are pinnate with single pair of pinnae, with 2-4 pairs of obovate leaflets 4-8 mm long, darkening when dried. Flowers: Found in terminal racemes, 22-28 mm wide, calyx green to yellow-green, lobes reflexed; Petals bright yellow, banner with small orange-red spots basally. Fruits: Straw colored oblong pods 4-10 cm long moderately flattened, mostly indehiscent, seeds 1-6. Ecology: Generally found along washes, plains, and canyons, sometimes on slopes from sea level to 4,000 ft (1219 m); flowers March-April. Distribution: s and w AZ, se CA, Sonora and Baja Calif., MEX. Notes: Leafy branches not or not strongly spine-tipped, the rudimentary branches transformed into spines. Mostly grows along dry washes, less common on upland slopes. Has bluish-green bark, leaflets 4-8 mm long, flowers 12-17 mm long with all petals the same bright yellow color and flat seed pods with short triangular beaks or without beaks. Compare to P. microphylla which has yellowish green bark, smaller leaflets < 3 mm long, smaller flowers < 10 mm long which often have one white petal among the yellow petals, and turgid (inflated) seed pods ending in a flat triangular or sword-shaped beak. Ethnobotany: The seeds were dried and roasted before being ground into meal for mush or cakes. Green pods can be eaten raw, similar to edamame (soybean) in texture. The wood was used for carving ladles. Etymology: Parkinsonia is named after John Parkinson (1567-1650), florida refers to either free-flowering, abundant flowers or bright.  Synonyms: Cercidium floridum, Cercidium floridum subsp. floridum Editor: SBuckley, 2010