Scientific Name: Parkinsonia florida
Common Name: Blue Palo Verde
Family: Fabaceae, Pea Family
Duration: Perennial
Size: Up to 25 to 30 feet
Growth Form: Large shrub to small tree
Leaves: Green; few and scattered, borne on short rachis, leaflets in 2 to 3 pairs, very small, mostly absent, often after summer monsoon rainfall.
Flower Color: Bright yellow; 1 to 2 inches across, banner petal also yellow; 4 or 5 flowers in cluster; fruit a legume, pods flattened, not tightly constricted between seeds, about 1.5 to 4 inches long, 1 to 8 seeds.
Flowering Season: May thru June. Sometimes again in late summer.
Threatened/Endangered Information: In Arizona, Parkinsonia florida is "Salvage Assessed, Harvest Restricted"
Comments: Found along washes and rocky slopes. Can be used as a shade tree or focal point. The Blue Paloverde is the state tree of Arizona. The Spanish word Palo Verde translated means green stick.
