Desert Museum Palo Verde Tree.

DESCRIPTION: Tree to 26-30′ high. Bark bluish-green and smooth.

Spines are small (0.25″), green, and straight. Leaves are bipinnately compound, with three or fewer secondary leaflets per primary leaflet (versus four or more in Foothills Palo Verde).

Flowers are bright yellow and 5-petaled (all petals are bright yellow in contrast to other the Foothills Palo Verde trees that has a larger white petal. 

Flowers in spring (April), usually before Foothills Palo Verde in the same area. The fruit is a flat pod starting green and turning yellow.  Fabaceae (Legume) Family.

NATURAL HISTORY: The Blue and Foothills Palo Verdes are Arizona’s State Tree.

Paloverde means “green stick” in Spanish, referring to the smooth, green bark in which photosynthesis takes place.

This allows the tree to drop its leaves (drought deciduous) to conserve water, yet still, photosynthesize. Compared to Foothills Palo Verde, Blue Palo Verdes need more water thus tend to be more restricted to washes and roadsides.

The seeds are very hard, thus they are not as easily eaten by humans, but you should hear what it sounds like when the Javelina crunch up the seeds with their strong teeth.

The seeds need to be scarified (abraded, as occurs in flash floods or digestive tracts) or weathered underground a few years before germination occurs.

The flowers are an important source of nectar and pollen for many species of solitary bees, butterflies and Humming Birds and as well as other insects.

THIS MAKES IT A TOP LANDSCAPE VALUE FOR ANY PROJECT.