Mexican Bird of Paradise
Caesalpinia mexicana
Photographed in Phoenix, Arizona, Nov. 2015.
The Mexican Bird of Paradise is not a native plant in Arizona and generally is not found in undisturbed Sonoran Desert habitat. Instead it is found planted as an ornamental in xeriscape gardens. Naturally it is found in southern Sonora, Texas and elsewhere in Mexico. The green twigs and branches are without thorns. The compound leaves average 6 to 10 dark green leaflets. The flatten seed bean pods open explosively as the two valves dry and twist. In the photo below the pod is held vertically and one seed remains after one valve has detached.
