Palo Brea
Parkinsonia praecox, Used To Be Pea Family ( Leguminosae ) Now Called ( Fabaceae ) Sub - Family ( Caesalpiniaceae ), Palo Brea. Also called: Sonoran Palo Verde, Cercidium praecox, Cercidium plurifoliolatum.
Palo Brea grows to about 25 feet tall and wide, and it has a symmetrical, umbrella- shaped canopy. Its smooth green bark and bright yellow flowers have made this a very popular tree in the Phoenix area. It's leaf growth is lusher than the other Palo Verdes. Palo Brea is more cold sensitive than the other Palo Verdes and it is susceptible to some frost damage on new growth.
Palo Brea prefers good drainage. It thrives in areas of lots of sun and heat retention in the winter months. Avoid extensive pruning during the summer months. Supplemental watering during summer.
Height: Up to 25 feet tall and 25 foot spread.
Flowers: Bright yellow with five petals, pistils may be red - brown. 4 - 5 flowers in a cluster less than 2" long; covering the tree in spring, sometimes again in late summer. Yellow flowers in the spring. Upper flower petal often bears orange dots.
Blooming Time: May - June.
Stems/Trunks : About one foot in diameter. The branches and most of the main trunk are trunk and branches blue-green becoming Gray - Brown and scaly. There are spines beneath the leaves in blue palo verde, but not so with Foothill Palo Verde.
Leaves: Leaves are bipinnately compound, in pairs, about 1/2in long with leaflets of 1/4 to 1/8in; often leafless most of the year, normally each fork bearing 1-3 pairs of smooth, tiny leaflets, that are shed in early summer. This is in contrast to Foothills Palo Verde which usually has 4 or more tiny leaflets.
Seed Pod: 1 1/2-3 1/4" long; narrowly oblong, flat, thin pods; short-pointed at ends, yellowish-brown; maturing and falling in summer; 2-8 beanlike seeds. Seeds are dark red - brown.
Seeds: Smooth hard seeds are only slightly flattened with 2 to 7 found in each pod.
Elevation: 0 - 2,500 Feet.
Habitat: At low elevations, in low deciduous forests. Native to Central Sonora, Mexico and Baja California, then South to Peru and Ecuador.
Miscellaneous: Bark remains green, even with age. Beware of hybrids that do not retain green bark or have distinctive growth habit. Flowering Photos Taken May 10, 2006 At Peoria.
