Patrick Alexander @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA)
Yavapai County Native & Naturalized Plants
   
 
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Plant Image
Leaves
Patrick Alexander @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA)
Plant Image
Fruit
Patrick Alexander @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA)
Plant Description

Origin: Native
General Description: Deciduous. A small tree with single or multiple short, crooked trunks. Frequently branches close to the ground and has an irregular crown.
Identification notes: Leaves of 5 to 9 pairs of leaflets; stems have many thorns; conspicuous flowers in spring followed by spiral-shaped bean pod. Distinguished from other mesquites by its spirally coiled fruit pods greater than 1-1/2 inches long.
Height: 10 to 25 feet     Width: Unavailable


Habitat

Habitat Description: Found in rocky and/or sandy soils of riparian areas. It can survive in desert conditions but thrives where water is more abundant.
Plant Communities: Desert Scrub, Interior Chaparral, Semidesert Grasslands, Riparian
Elevation: 0 - 4000 feet


Flowers

Color: Yellow   Shape: Other in elongated clusters    Tubular: N   Flowering Period: Mar - Aug
Description: Yellow flowers, 1/8 inch long, in elongated and cylindrical clusters.


Leaves

Leaf Color: Green   Type: Compound   Shape: Round or oval   Margin: Smooth   Attachment: Alternate   Hairs: Top and bottom of leaves
Description: Central stalk splits into 2 stalks and each of the those stalks have 5 to 9 pairs of leaflets.


Fruit

Color: Yellowish-green   Type: Pod   Description: 1 to 2 inch long tightly coiled and spiraled pod. Color turns light brown at maturity. Seeds germinate after being scarified in the digestive tract of animals.


Bark/Branches

Bark Color: Light brown    Bark Texture (Mature): Shreddy or peeling   Bark and Branch Description: Pairs of thorns where leaves attach on the branches. Bark breaks into long, narrow strips with age.
Spines, thorns or prickles: Y

  Arizona Cooperative Extension
Yavapai County
840 Rodeo Dr #C
Prescott, AZ 86305
(928) 445-6590
Version 8.0  
http://cales.arizona.edu/yavapaiplants/SpeciesDetail.php  
Last Updated: Dec 13, 2022
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