Accession Count: 1
Common Name:
palo piejo
Family Name:
Fabaceae
Botanical Name:
Caesalpinia palmeri
Sub Species:
Variety:
Forma:
Cultivar:
Characteristics:
C. palmeri is a multi-stemmed desert shrub with an open crown, growing 10 to 15 feet in height and width. It may also develop into a small shrubby tree with a twiggy growth habit, growing between 10 to 20 feet tall (1). Bark is a dark gray color, spotted with light-colored lenticels. Leaf morphology is bipinnately compound, and its small, glabrous leaflets form an obovate shape. Flowers are vibrant yellow-orange with red spots on the upper petals, forming an inflorescence of terminal and axillary racemes. As a legume species, fruits are pod-like, exhibiting a light red tinge on its peripheries when young (2).
Compound:
Cae pal
Geographic Origin:
Mexico
Ecozone Origin:
Nearctic
Biome Origin:
Natural History:
This shrub is native to the desertscrub and thornscrub forests of Sonora (3), and grow as trees in dry regions between Alamos and Sinaloa where there are tropical deciduous forests (2).
Cultivation Notes:
C. palmeri thrives in arid climates, and is also hardy in below zero climates (20° F). In cultivation, it should be exposed to full sun and grown in fertile, well-drained soils, thriving best in rhyolite (2).
Ethnobotany:
Height:
6 - 10 feet
Width:
0 - 5 feet
Growth Rate:
Moderate Growing
Grow Season:
Spring
Flower Season:
Summer
Color:
Yellow
Function:
Habitat
Spread:
Spreading
Allergen:
Non-allergenic
Invasive:
Benign
Toxicity:
Benign
Hardy:
Hardy
Water Use:
Moderate Water Use
