{{Short description|Species of tree native to the Sonoran Desert}} {{Speciesbox |name = Blue palo verde |image = Cercidium floridum whole.jpg |image_caption = Tree in flower |genus = Parkinsonia (plant) |species = florida |authority = ([[George Bentham|Benth.]] ex [[Asa Gray|A.Gray]]) [[Sereno Watson|S.Wats.]] }}
'''''Parkinsonia florida''''', the '''blue palo verde''' ([[synonym (taxonomy)|syn.]] ''Cercidium floridum''), is a species of [[Parkinsonia|palo verde]] native to the [[Sonoran Desert]]s in the [[Southwestern United States]] and Northwestern [[Mexico]].<ref>[https://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=pafl6 USDA] . accessed 4.1.2013</ref><ref name="calflora">[http://www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-taxon=Parkinsonia+florida Calflora Database: ''Parkinsonia florida''] accessed 4.1.2013</ref> Its name means "green pole or stick" in Spanish, referring to the green trunk and branches, that perform [[photosynthesis]].
==Description== ''Parkinsonia florida'' grows to heights of {{convert|33|–|39|feet|m}}. It is a rapidly growing large shrub or small [[tree]], and rarely survives to 100 years. Compared to the closely related ''[[Parkinsonia microphylla]]'' (foothill paloverde), it appears more decumbent in overall form, is taller, and matures more quickly.
The plant's trunk, branches, and leaves are gray-green in color, hence the common name. The plant is drought-deciduous, shedding its foliage for most of the year, leafing out after rainfall. [[Photosynthesis]] is performed by the gray-green branches and twigs, regardless of absent leaves.<ref name="npin">[http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=PAFL6 Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Native Plant Information Network (NPIN)] . accessed 4.1.2013</ref>
The flowers are bright yellow, and [[pea]]-like, which cover the tree in late spring. They attract [[pollinator]]s such as [[bee]]s, [[beetle]]s, and [[fly|flies]]. They are followed by seed pods which are slightly larger and flatter and have harder shells than the foothill paloverde. These are a food source for small rodents and birds.<ref name="npin"/>
==Distribution== This plant is primarily found in the Sonoran [[Colorado Desert]] of southeastern [[California]], and the Sonoran Deserts of southern [[Arizona]] and of northwestern [[Sonora]] state (Mexico). It is found predominantly in desert washes or ''[[Bajada (geography)|bajada]]s'', a result of its need for water, although occasionally it can be found in [[Larrea tridentata|creosote]] desert scrub habitat, accessing [[Seep (hydrology)|seep]]s in desert hills up to {{convert|3,600|ft|m}}.<ref name="jepson">[http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_IJM.pl?tid=36268 Jepson]. accessed 4.1.2013</ref><ref>[http://www.calflora.org/entry/dgrid.html?crn=9499 Calflora Database: distribution map]</ref> Also found in the far eastern [[Mojave Desert]] of California in the northern [[Lower Colorado River Valley]], and occasionally in the Mojave's mountains.<ref name="calflora"/><ref name="jepson"/>
==Uses== ===Native American=== The plant's beans were used as a food source, and wood for carving [[ladle (spoon)|ladle]]s, by the [[Indigenous peoples of California|indigenous]] [[Quechan people|Quechan]], [[Mojave people|Mojave]], and [[Akimel O'odham]].<ref>[http://herb.umd.umich.edu/herb/search.pl?searchstring=Parkinsonia+florida University of Michigan – Dearborn: Native American Ethnobotany] . accessed 4.1.2013</ref> The Akimel and [[Tohono Oʼodham]] both ate the beans when soft and immature and cooked whole; they also ground the ripe seeds into flour to eat as [[atole]] or gruel.<ref>{{cite book |last=Peattie |first=Donald Culross |author-link=Donald C. Peattie |title=A Natural History of Western Trees |year=1953 |publisher=[[Bonanza Books]] |location=New York |page=576}}</ref> The flowers are sweet and edible either fresh or cooked.
===Cultivation=== ''Parkinsonia florida'' is cultivated as an [[ornamental plant]] and tree by specialty [[plant nursery|plant nurseries]], for planting as a [[shrub]] or multi-trunked small tree in [[xeriscape|drought tolerant]] and [[wildlife garden]]s of suitable climates.<ref name="pilitas">[http://www.laspilitas.com/nature-of-california/plants/cercidium-floridum Las Pilitas Horticultural Treatment]</ref><ref>[http://www.cnplx.info/nplx/species?taxon=Parkinsonia+florida California Native Plant Link Exchange—CNLPX: horticulture, seed and nursery sources]</ref> It offers an unusual green-blue silhouette in gardens, and delicately patterned light shade over [[patio]]s.<ref name="pilitas"/>
==Taxonomy and symbols== The Irish botanist [[Thomas Coulter]] was the first to categorize ''Parkinsonia florida''. He obtained specimens near [[Hermosillo, Sonora|Hermosillo]], in Sonora, Mexico, in 1830.
The blue palo verde is the [[list of U.S. state trees|state tree]] of [[Arizona]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.meettheusa.com/usa-facts/arizona-facts |title=48 Arizona Facts |publisher=Meet The USA |date=2022 |access-date=2022-07-04 |archive-date=2022-07-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220703041512/https://www.meettheusa.com/usa-facts/arizona-facts |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 1966, it was also named the "city tree" of [[South Miami, Florida]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://somimag.com/article/south-miami-history-part-iii/ |author= Shelley, Donna |title= South Miami History: Part III |date= 9 October 2012 |publisher= City of South Miami, SOMI Magazine |access-date= December 29, 2012}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist|2}}
==External links== *{{Commons category-inline|Parkinsonia florida}} *{{Wikispecies-inline|Parkinsonia florida}} * [https://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=pafl6 USDA Plants Profile for ''Parkinsonia florida'' (blue paloverde)] * {{GRIN}} * [http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_IJM.pl?tid=36268 Jepson Manual Treatment; ''Parkinsonia florida''] * [http://www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-taxon=Parkinsonia+florida Calflora Database: ''Parkinsonia florida'' (blue paloverde)] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20161222021506/http://www.azgfd.gov/i_e/ee/resources/factsheets/palo_verde.pdf Arizona State Tree: Blue paloverde]; ''(pdf file)'' * [http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?query_src=photos_index&where-taxon=Parkinsonia+florida ''Parkinsonia florida''; U.C. Photo gallery]
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[[Category:Parkinsonia|florida]] [[Category:Trees of Northern America]] [[Category:Symbols of Arizona]] [[Category:Plants described in 1830]] [[Category:Edible legumes]] [[Category:Bird food plants]] [[Category:Plants used in Native American cuisine]] [[Category:Garden plants of North America]] [[Category:Drought-tolerant trees]] [[Category:Ornamental trees]] [[Category:Flora without expected TNC conservation status]]