Flowers, Leaves

Parkinsonia aculeata is a tree from the family Fabaceae; common names include Mexican Palo Verde, Parkinsonia, Jerusalem thorn, or Jellybean tree. more...

Home
Art
Basketry
Bead Art
Candle & Soap Making
Ceramics, Pottery
Crafts Wholesale Lots
Crocheting
Cross Stitch
Decorative, Tole Painting
Drawing
Embroidery
Fabric
Fabric Embellishments
Floral Crafts
Framing & Matting
General Art & Craft Supplies
Glass Art Crafts
Handcrafted Items
Kids Crafts
Knitting
Lacemaking, Tatting
Latch Rug Hooking
Leathercraft
Macramé
Metalworking
Mosaic
Needlepoint
Other Arts & Crafts
Painting
Paper Crafts & Origami
Quilting
Ribbon
Rubber Stamping & Embossing
Embossing Supplies
Other Stamping & Embossing
Paper, Stationery
Rubber Stamping Idea Books
Rubber Stamping Kits
Rubber Stamps
Mounted Rubber Stamps
Alphabet, Numbers
Angels & Fairies
Animals & Insects
Baby
Birthday
Borders
Characters
Collage
Collections, Mixed Lots
Flowers, Leaves
Holidays
Love, Hearts, Wedding
Other Stamping Themes
People, Family & Jobs
Poems & Sayings
Religious
Toys, Dolls & Bears
Unmounted Rubber Stamps
Alphabet, Numbers
Angels & Fairies
Animals & Insects
Borders
Flowers, Leaves
Holidays
Other Stamping Themes
Stamping Ink & Pads
Stamping Instruction,...
Stamping Tools & Equipment
Scrapbooking
Sewing
Shellcraft
Spinning
Upholstery
Wall Décor, Tatouage
Weaving
Woodworking
Yarn

It is native to the southwestern United States (western Texas, southern Arizona), Mexico, the Caribbean, South America south to northern Argentina, and the Galapagos Islands.

It grows from 2 to 8 meters high. The leaves and stems are hairless. The flattened leaf stalk is edged by two rows of 25-30 tiny oval leaflets; the leaflets are soon deciduous in dry weather, leaving the green leaf stalks and branches to photosynthesize. The branches grow sharp spines 7-12 mm long. The flowers are yellow and fragrant, 20 mm in diameter, growing from a long slender stalk in groups of eight to ten. The fruit is a pod, leathery in appearance, light brown when mature.

Invasive problems

P. aculeata is a major invasive species in Australia, parts of tropical Africa, Hawaii, and other islands in the Pacific Ocean.

It was introduced to Australia as an ornamental tree and for shade around 1900. It is now a serious weed widespread through Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland, covering about 8,000 square kilometres of land, and has the potential to spread through most of the semi-arid to subhumid tropical area in Australia.

It forms dense thickets, preventing access for humans, native animals and livestock to waterways. The seed pods float, and the plant spreads by dropping pods into water, or pods are washed dowstream by seasonal flooding.

Several control methods are used to reduce the existing population and the spread of P. aculeata in Australia. Three insects have been introduced to Australia for biological control; the parkinsonia seed beetles, Penthobruchus germaini and Mimosetes ulkei, both have larvae that specifically eat the seeds from parkinsonia pods and are proving to be a useful management tool, and the parkinsonia leaf bug, Rhinacloa callicrates, which destroys photosynthetic tissues but has had no impact on the weed. Fire is effective for young trees; mechanical removal and herbicides are also used.

Read more at Wikipedia.org