Psorothamnus spinosus

Smoke tree

Family: Fabaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Smoke tree is a California native shrub found in desert regions of southern California in desert washes at elevations below 400 meters. Flowering from June to July, this plant produces indigo-blue flowers in small clusters with 5 to 15 blossoms. Growing as a distinctive gray-canescent shrub or small tree 1.5 to 8 meters tall, it develops a striking form with branch tips ending in thorns. Its simple leaves are thick and oblanceolate, measuring 0.5 to 2 centimeters long, and typically drop by early summer. The fruit is plump and obovate, gland-dotted, and typically larger than the flower's calyx.

Habitat: Common. Desert washes

Bloom period: Jun-Jul(Oct--Nov)

Elevation: < 400 m

Bioregions: D

California counties: San Bernardino, Riverside, Imperial, San Diego, Calaveras

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