Primarily trees and shrubs plus a few subshrubs. Fruit a legume with one to several beans. Flowers weakly bilaterally symmetrical - in the Sonoran Desert many are bright yellow in color. Leaves are usually compound with an even number of leaflets.
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Blue Palo Verde |
Parkinsonia florida |
Foothills Palo Verde |
Parkinsonia microphylla |
Tree grows usu. along well-watered washes. Also planted in urban desert landscapes. Compound leaves often with about eight leaflets. Foliage with blue-green cast. Small, sharp thorns along branches. Detailed Description |
Grows along drier washes and on rocky slopes. Double compound leaves have more, smaller leaflets. Foliage with yellow-green cast. Branch tips thornlike. Detailed Description |
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Jerusalem Thorn |
Parkinsonia aculeata |
Desert Senna |
Senna covesii |
Fast growing tree of vacant lots, ditches and volunteer in landscaping. Uncommon in undisturbed Sonoran Desert. Compound leaves with very long rachises; leaflets readily shed leaving long strap-like leaves. 5 cm long, sharp thorns. Detailed Description |
Low shrub or sub-shrub common along roadsides (widely planted by highway depts.), washes and in desert landscaping. Abundant yellow flowers. Pods face upwards as they open. Detailed Description |
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Bird of Paradise |
Caesalpinia pulcherrima |
Wand Holdback |
Caesalpinia virgata |
Medium to large shrub with abundant showy flowers. Planted in xeriscape gardens in urban Sonoran Desert. Rare in undisturbed Sonoran Desert; non-native. Compound leaves with numerous leaflets. Stems with abundant fine spines. Detailed Description |
Uncommon shrub with narrow, rushlike stems with few or no leaves found in lower elevations of the Sonoran Desert along washes in canyons. No spines. Detailed Description |
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Mex Bird of Paradise |
Caesalpinia mexicana |
Spiny Senna |
Senna Armata |
Popular xeriscape shrub native to Mexico. No spines. Flat, thin-hulled seed pods. Detailed Description |
Far western portions of the Sonoran Desert, mostly in California. Sharp tips to branchlets. Shiny foliage/stems and bright yellow blossoms. Detailed Description |
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