Parkinsonia aculeata

Mexican palo verde, Mexican Palo Verde

Family: Fabaceae · Type: tree · Not Native

Mexican palo verde is a naturalized tree found in southern California coastal areas, western Transverse Ranges, Peninsular Ranges, and southern desert regions in dry, disturbed places at elevations below 800 meters. Flowering from April to October, this tree produces distinctive yellow flowers with red-spotted banner petals that turn completely red with age. Growing 3 to 12 meters tall with spines at its nodes, it features a persistent main leaf axis that remains like a ribbon. Its leaves are complex, with two to four primary leaflets and 30 to 60 small, ephemeral secondary leaflets that are elliptic and just 3 to 5 millimeters long. The leathery fruit pods are 4 to 12 centimeters in length, adding to the tree's distinctive architectural presence.

Habitat: Uncommon. Disturbed, dry places

Bloom period: Generally Apr-Oct

Elevation: < 800 m

Bioregions: SnJV, SCo, WTR, PR, DSon

California counties: Los Angeles, Imperial, Riverside, San Bernardino, Kern, Ventura, Orange, San Diego, Tulare, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Sacramento, Yolo, Monterey

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