Blue Palo Verde
Parkinsonia florida
A blue-green-barked desert tree that photosynthesizes through its trunk and erupts in a haze of yellow flowers each spring. A nurse plant that shelters young saguaros in its dappled shade. Like other palo verdes, the seeds and pods are a documented traditional food.
- Family
- Fabaceae
- Type
- tree
- Lifespan
- perennial
- Height
- 20–30 ft
- Spacing
- 20–30 ft apart
- Light
- sun
- Soil moisture
- dry
- Soil pH
- neutral, alkaline
- Bloom
- March, April, May, June, August, September, October, November
- Bloom colors
- yellow
- Wildlife value
- pollinators, songbirds, larval host
- Landscape uses
- specimen, hedge or screen, erosion control
- Native states
- AZ, CA, NV
Related native plants
More Parkinsonia species
- Mexican Palo Verde (Parkinsonia aculeata)
- Foothill Palo Verde (Parkinsonia microphylla)
- Texas Palo Verde (Parkinsonia texana)