Sonoran Desert Naturalist >>> Field Guide >>> Sonoran Desert Flora >>> Papionoideae (page 1)
The most diverse and familiar of the Bean Subfamilies. The others are Mimosoideae and Ceasalpinioideae. Flowers are strongly bilaterally symmetrical - i.e. a pea-like flower. Fruit is a legume, although some species have one-seeded bean pods. Leaves of many species are once compound. Herbs, vines, shrubs and trees.
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Desert Ironwood |
Olneya tesota |
Smoke Tree |
Psorothamnus spinosus |
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Evergreen tree with compound leaves lilac-colored flowers in May. Exceptionally hard wood and sharply thorny. Sonoran Desert areas free of hard freezes. Detailed Description |
Nearly leafless tree with long, sharp thorns. Small, vivid purple flowers. Legume small usu. with one seed. Only in far western and southwestern portions of the Sonoran Desert. Detailed Description |
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Coursetia |
Coursetia glandulosa |
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Deciduous shrub with compound leaves and yellow-white pea flowers. Legumes are noticeably sticky. Fairly common in canyons along eastern and southern parts of the Sonoran Desert. Detailed Description |
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Arizona Sophora |
Sophora arizonica |
Feather Plume |
Dalea formosa |
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Woody, thornless shrub or small tree with lilac flowers that smell like grapes. Leaves dark and evergreen. Rare in a few mountain foothills. Texas Sophora is similar and is a popular xeriscape plant in Phoenix and Tucson. Detailed Description |
Gracefull curving twigs with feathery blooms. Low shrub of upper Sonoran Desert in transition to chaparral or grassland. Flowers also purple with a yellow petal. Detailed Description |
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Copyright Michael J. Plagens, 1999-2008
