Halimodendron halodendron

Russian salt tree, Russian Salt Tree

Family: Fabaceae · Type: shrub · Not Native

Russian salt tree is a non-native shrub found in the central Coast Ranges and Los Angeles basin in cultivated landscapes at elevations below 200 meters. Flowering from April to June, this plant produces red-purple to pink flowers in small racemes that are 15 to 18 millimeters long. Growing as a spiny shrub with sprawling or erect stems 1 to 3 meters tall, it forms distinctive woody branches with sharp spine-like structures. Its leaves are clustered on spurs, featuring four obovate to oblanceolate leaflets that are deciduous and have small pointed tips. The fruit develops as a plump, ellipsoid woody pod 1.5 to 2 centimeters long that gradually turns black when mature.

Habitat: Cultivated land

Bloom period: Apr-Jun

Elevation: < 200 m

Bioregions: GV, c SCo (Los Angeles basin)

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