Blue palo verde

Parkinsonia florida

Formerly Cercidium floridum. Slow-growing leguminous drought-deciduous tree with spines, up to 40 ft. tall with photosynthetic green bark and brilliant yellow flower clusters, blooming March to May and again following monsoon rains. Occurs in well-drained, low-nutrient sandy soils of uplands, floodplains, dry washes, intermittent streambeds and desert riparian areas of desert scrub and semidesert grasslands; up to 5,000 ft. elevation. Often codominant in Creosote bush (Larrea tridentata) and White bursage (Ambrosia dumosa) habitats and acts as nurse plants to Saguaro cacti. Widely used for restoration and as a landscaping ornamental. Foliage and pods can be used as emergency forage for desert livestock and are sought after by wildlife. Nectar attracts birds and butterflies and is favored by bees. Susceptible to parasitic mistletoe which attracts birds to its berries and is a host for Great purple hairstreak butterflies. Co-state tree of Arizona, along with Yellow palo verde (P. microphylla).