Yellow season in Tucson

It’s almost as if Mother Nature flipped a switch and all the Palo Verde trees across Arizona burst into bloom a few days ago. On nearly every block in Tucson this official tree of Arizona is ablaze in yellow. Lantana bushes and even a cactus or two also got into the act, blooming in sync with the Palo Verde (Parkinsonia syn. Cercidium) for even more yellow.

Most of the year the Palo Verde, a Southwest U.S. native tree, is recognizable by its green bark and bare branches. What leaves it has are tiny to the point of being invisible. And there is no indication of the amazing bloom that comes in Spring. It thrives even with neglect so the Pale Verde is planted in parking lots, front yards, and grows wild in the dry riverbeds that encircle most of the city.

Here are a few ones I saw as I was running errands about town.

Across the street from my home is this Palo Verde and if you look down the street you can see other Palo Verde trees in bloom about a block away. They are literally everywhere in Tucson.

On the ground below the Palo Verde, above, is a prickly pear cactus contributing to the Yellow Fever!

Standing under the Palo Verde tree shown at the top of this post is like standing under a sunshine yellow umbrella.

In this close-up of the flowers you can see the tiny, tiny leaves that are almost invisible most of the year. As a Southwest native it does not waste its energy producing leaves! Its green bark performs much of the photosynthesis function.

Nearby, yellow Lantana montevidensis–the low growing variety of Lantana–snuggles up to an agave to create a natural “flower arrangement” in a local garden. Good planting decision by the homeowner!

And as if to celebrate the Palo Verde blooms, the SunLink trolley that scoots around Tucson wears yellow and orange, plus the image of a yellow-breasted bird. Sorry, I don’t know which bird it is–maybe the official state bird, the Cactus Wren?

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