Caesalpinia spinosa

Tara

Family: Fabaceae · Type: perennial · Not Native

Tara is a naturalized perennial found in southern California Counties, southern Channel Islands, and dry, disturbed areas at elevations below 50 meters. Flowering from May to August, this plant produces yellow to reddish flowers on long inflorescences 15 to 20 centimeters tall. Growing as an evergreen shrub less than 2 meters tall with scattered prickles, it has brown-hairy twigs and a distinctive branching structure. Its compound leaves feature 6 to 20 primary leaflets with 10 to 14 secondary leaflets, each elliptic and 1.5 to 4 centimeters long. The plant produces oblong, dry fruits 6 to 10 centimeters long that become spongy or leathery with age.

Habitat: Uncommon. Dry, disturbed areas

Bloom period: May-Aug

Elevation: < 50 m

Bioregions: SCo (Ventura Co.), s ChI, expected elsewhere

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.