Parkinsonia Aculeata, Palo Verde – 0.5 kg Seeds

Parkinsonia aculeata is a small evergreen spiny tree with an open, spreading, globose crown; it can grow 4 – 10 meters tall. The bole is often crooked and branching from low down, it can be up to 40cm in diameter.

The tree is sometimes harvested from the wild for local use of its edible seed. It is able to grow in very harsh conditions, including seasonal flooding, and so is often used in difficult situations in soil stabilization and afforestation projects. It is also used as a hedge and is often grown as an ornamental, where it is valued especially for its abundant and long-lasting floral display.

Cultivation Details

A plant of the semi-arid tropics and subtropics, where it is found at elevations up to 2,400 meters in the tropics; it has also spread like a weed into some warm temperate regions. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range of 24 – 32°c but can tolerate 16 – 36°c. When dormant, the plant can survive temperatures down to about -4°c, but young growth can be severely damaged at -1°c. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range of 300 – 700mm but tolerates 200 – 1,000mm.