The state tree of Arizona is the palo verde, with two species found in the region. They are deciduous trees that bloom yellow flowers in spring and have green branches that help with photosynthesis during dry periods. The leaves and pods are food for various animals, and the tree has cultural and practical uses. The name palo verde means green stick in Spanish, referring to its green bark.
The state tree of Arizona is the palo verde. Although there are two species of palo verde, legislation designating palo verde the state tree of Arizona in 1954 did not specify which species. Cercidium floridum, also known as the blue green pole, has bluish green colored leaves and branches. The other species of palo verde is Cercidium microphyllum, commonly known as piedmont palo verde. This species sports yellowish-green branches and leaves.
Both palo verde species are native to the American Southwest and northern Mexico, and both are found in Arizona. They are deciduous trees that lose their leaves during dry periods. When trees are devoid of leaves, the green branches take over the photosynthesis function, allowing the tree to thrive in hot, dry, desert conditions.
Palo verde lights up the landscape in spring when it blooms from late March to May with a profusion of yellow flowers. Each flower is solitary and approximately 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) in diameter. Palo verde may not bloom every year as the flowers depend on the amount of rain the tree receives. A mature palo verde can reach about 25 feet (7.6 meters) tall with an equally broad canopy and a trunk diameter of 1.5 to 2 feet (0.4 to 0.6 meters). It has a deep root system to reach any nearby groundwater.
The leaves of the Arizona state tree are food for hares, mule deer, bighorn sheep, and various rodents, while the pods are favored by javelins. Their canopy provides shade and the cooler temperatures needed for other desert plants like saguaro cactus to germinate. The seeds of the Arizona state tree were used by some Native Americans to make necklaces, and they used both the seeds and the flowers for food. The flowers can be used to make red dye and the wood is used as firewood.
Palo verde means green stick in Spanish. The Arizona state tree received this name because of its green bark, which gets its color from its high chlorophyll content. It is propagated from seeds produced after a cool, wet spring and is food for rodents, which often bury the seeds for safe keeping. Young palo verde seedlings are drought tolerant. Some of the seeds can germinate after a rain, but very few survive the arid conditions.
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