Palo Verde

What's in a name?

Palo Verde: photo by Cliff Hutson

One of the things that intrigues me about leading tours at RSABG is the feed back I receive from guests. One plant that leads to many discussions is a tree we call Palo Verde. Everyone agrees that “verde” is Spanish for “green”. However, “palo” is variously translated as “stick”, “pole”, or “wood”. The “green” in its name comes from the color of the trunk and limbs which contain chlorophyll. This feature allows the tree to photosynthesize when it drops its leaves due to drought conditions, and again in winter.

Native to California, various specious of Palo Verde also occur throughout the Southwest and part of Mexico. They are found predominantly in desert washes, and occasionally in creosote desert scrub habitat, accessing seeps in desert hills up to 3,600 feet .

The most common species are: Little-leaved or Yellow Palo Verde (Parkinsonia aculeata) has a yellow-green trunk, tiny leaves, and a spine at the end of each branch. Their seeds are large with a seed pod that constricts around them; and Blue Palo Verde (Parkinsonia florida)  which has a blue-green trunk, larger leaves, small spines along the branch at the leaf nodes, and no spine at the end of the branch. Blue Palo Verde seed pods are larger than little-leaved seed pods, and the pod does not constrict around the seeds.

Palo Verde Blossoms: photo by Cliff Hutson

The yellow pea-like flowers bloom in spring and frequently occur intermittently through out the year. Both the literature and my personal observation indicate that the plant seems to attract the most bees and the most species of bees than any other tree. This factor, the sheer beauty of its filigreed leaves, and its low water requirement have made Palo Verde a popular landscape tree In our area.

Bee on Palo Verde: photo by Cliff Hutson