Parkinsonia aculeata
Mexican palo verde
A deciduous desert tree, with pinnate leaves modified for dry conditions. The leaflets are tiny (about ⅛ inch) and very numerous (30 to 60) if present at all (the plant often gets along with the interestingly shaped leaf rachis only). Yellow ½-inch flowers come in racemes standing several inches high. The seed pods are several inches long, constricted between the seeds.
Campus’s sole example is southwest of the tree yucca that stands in the center of the Arizona Garden. In Palo Alto one is at Palo Verde Elementary School, 3450 Louis Road. Walk in the main entrance and see the tree on the right in the courtyard just beyond the principal’s office. Three specimens in front of 586 College Avenue were removed around 2011 (Oct 2007 street view).
Name derivation: Parkinsonia – after John Parkinson (1567–1650), London apothecary and author of gardening books; aculeata – prickly.
About this Entry: The main text of this entry is from the book Trees of Stanford and Environs, by Ronald Bracewell, published 2005. Arizona Garden location added; edits (Jul 2024, SP).
