Parkinsonia florida
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Blooming Parkinsonia florida |
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| Parkinsonia florida | ||||||||||||
| ( Benth. Ex A. Gray ) S. Watson |
Parkinsonia florida is a species of Parkinsonia ( Parkinsonia ) within the legume family (Fabaceae). It is native to the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico .
description
Appearance and leaf
Parkinsonia florida is a fast-growing, multi-stemmed, thorny, deciduous tree that can reach heights of growth of 10 to 12 meters. It has an open, very wide-spreading treetop (up to 15.2 square meters of surface area) and a relatively short trunk with a diameter of up to 50 centimeters. The trunk and branches have a very thin, blue-green bark and are capable of photosynthesis .
The alternately arranged leaves are pinnate in pairs (total size 1 to 2.5 centimeters) and consist of one to three pairs, small (4 to 8 millimeters), blue-green leaflets that are shed during periods of drought.
blossom
The flowering period in late spring (late March to early May) usually lasts two weeks. The flowers are (light) yellow, have a diameter of 12 to 18 millimeters and have a double flower envelope . The calyx is 6 to 7 millimeters long. The usually five, rarely four petals are 8 to 10 millimeters long. There are ten free stamens .
Fruit and seeds
The legumes are 4 to 12 inches long and 7 to 10 millimeters wide. Each legume contains up to eight flat bean-like seeds . The seeds are olive brown, flattened, smooth and are 7.5 to 10 millimeters long with a width of 6 to 7 millimeters.
Similar species
The distinctive features of Parkinsonia florida from the closely related species Parkinsonia microphylla (Palo Verde of the foothills), with which Parkinsonia florida can cross, are its more drooping branches, its rapid ripening process and its location, which is tied to dry valleys, as the tree has a relatively high need for water . In Parkinsonia florida , the legumes are slightly longer and flatter, and the pods are harder than in Parkinsonia microphylla .
ecology
The root system of Parkinsonia florida has no mycorrhizas .
distribution
The range of Parkinsonia florida extends over the southeastern California , the extreme south Nevada and the central and southern Arizona , as well as over the Mexican states Baja California Norte and Sonora . Isolated occurrences exist in Baja California Sur and Sinaloa .
Ecosystems and Plant Associations
Parkinsonia florida is part of the desert shrub and desert grassland ecosystem. According to AW Kuchler , the tree has associations with the following plants:
- Mesquite shrub
- Creosote bush
- Creosote bush- Ambrosia dumosa and
- Cactus bushes
Location
Parkinsonia florida is a characteristic tree of the Sonoran Desert and the Colorado Desert in particular . It thrives on the lower and middle sections of Bajadas , as scattered groups of trees along arroyos and in dry valleys. It is only occasionally found on slopes (the foothills). The main feature of all these locations is the sporadic water flow.
Parkinsonia florida rises to an altitude of 1200 meters.
Taxonomy
It was first published under the name Cercidium floridum by George Bentham in Asa Gray . The new combination to Parkinsonia florida (Benth. Ex A.Gray) S.Watson was published by Sereno Watson . The specific epithet florida ( Italian for "blooming, blooming") is ultimately derived from the Latin flōs (flower). Further synonyms for Parkinsonia florida (Benth. Ex A.Gray) S.Watson are: Cercidium torreyanum (S.Wats.) Sarg., Cercidium torreyanum Sarg. Gard. & For. Parkinsonia torreyana or Parkinsonia torreyanum S.Wats.
use
The Cahuilla Indians dried the seeds and made flour out of them. The tree also served them as privacy and sun protection. The Yuma roasted the seeds, grated them and made a pulp. The Pima Indians ate the fresh pods raw and carved cooking utensils out of the wood.
Origin of the common names and symbols
In the Spanish-speaking world , the Parkinsonia are known as “Palo Verde” (green stick) because of the green-colored trunk that takes on photosynthetic tasks . Parkinsonia florida was first botanically categorized by the Irish botanist Thomas Coulter in 1830 when he received several plants from near Hermosillo . Parkinsonia florida is the state tree of the state of Arizona. Parkinsonia florida is known as “Blue Palo Verde” because of its blue-green leaves.
Genetic fingerprint
A genetic fingerprint of a plant was created from seeds of Parkinsonia florida for the first time in crime history in 1993 and used in court to prove that the seeds found on the suspect's car came from a very specific plant that grows next to the crime scene.
swell
- AM Carter: The genus Cercidium in the Sonoran Desert of Mexico and United States. Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci. ser. 4, 1974, pp. 40:33.
- F. Shreve, IL Wiggins. 1964: Vegetation and flora of the Sonoran desert .
Individual evidence
- ↑ RC Barth, JO Klemmedson: Amount and distribution of dry matter, nitrogen, and organic carbon in soil-plant systems of mesquite and palo verde. Journal of Range Management. Volume 35. Issue 4, 1982, pp. 412-418
- ^ WB McDougal: Seed Plants of Northern Arizona. The Museum of Northern Arizona. Flagstaff, Arizona, 1973.
- ^ Philip A. Munz: A flora of southern California. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1974. 1086 p.
- ↑ Jay C. Maddox, Carlquist, Sherwin. 1985. Wind dispersal in Californian desert plants: experimental studies and conceptual considerations. , Aliso Volume 11, Issue 1, pp. 77-96.
- ^ WL Minckley, Thomas O. Clark: Vegetation of the Gila River Resource Area, eastern Arizona. Desert plants. 3 (3), 1981, pp. 124-140.
- ↑ Michael A. Bowers: Plant associations on a Sonoran Desert bajada: geographical correlates and evolutionary source pools. Vegetatio. 74, 1988, pp. 107-112.
- ↑ Raymond M. Turner, David E. Brown: Sonoran desertscrub. In: David E. Brown, ed .: Biotic communities of the American Southwest - United States and Mexico. Desert plants. 4 (1-4), 1982, pp. 181-221.
- ↑ Parkinsonia florida in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), USDA , ARS , National Genetic Resources Program. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
- ^ Raymond M. Turner: Growth in four species of Sonoran Desert trees. Ecology , Volume 44, 1963, pp. 760-765.
- ↑ Murder trial features tree's genetic fingerprint
- ↑ Plant's DNA 'Fingerprints' Lead to Man's Murder Conviction
Web links
- Arizona State Tree . (PDF; 263 kB)
- FEIS entry.