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Parkinsonia aculeata
Fabaceae FAMILY

Parkinsonia aculeata

Parkinsonia aculeata

Edibility
3/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

The leaves are reported to contain hydrocyanic acid and to be toxic[1].

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Tree
GrowthFast

A plant of the semi-arid tropics and subtropics, where it is found at elevations up to 2,400 metres in the tropics; it has also spread as a weed into some warm temperate regions. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 24 - 32°c, but can tolerate 16 - 36°c[2]. When dormant, the plant can survive temperatures down to about -4°c, but young growth can be severely damaged at -1°c[2]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 300 - 700mm, but tolerates 200 - 1,000mm[2]. Requires a sunny position[1, 2, 3]. Succeeds in well-drained, sandy to loamy soils[2]. Tolerant of a wide range of soils, including poor, gravely or sandy soils[4, 5]. Plants can tolerate moderate levels of salt in the soil[2]. Prefers a pH in the range 6.5 - 7.5, tolerating 6 - 8.5[2]. Tolerates very acid soils[5]. Plants can withstand droughts of up to 9 months, and also seasonal waterlogging of the soil[2, 5]. The tree is fast-growing but short-lived[2]. It can reach a height of 2.5 metres within 2 years from seed[3]. Young fertilized plants can grow up to 1 metre annually[2]. Plants respond well to coppicing and trimming[5]. The branches of wild plants are often hollow and inhabited by ants[6]. There are conflicting reports on whether or not this tree has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, so it is unclear as to whether this tree fixes atmospheric nitrogen[7].

Propagation

Seed - some of the seed has a hard seedcoat and benefits from scarification before sowing to speed up germination. This can usually be done by pouring a small amount of nearly boiling water on the seeds (being careful not to cook them!) and then soaking them for 12 - 24 hours in warm water. By this time they should have imbibed moisture and swollen - if they have not, then carefully make a nick in the seedcoat (being careful not to damage the embryo) and soak for a further 12 hours before sowing. Sow the seed in a sunny position in a nursery seedbed or in individual containers. A high germination rate can be expected, with the seed sprouting within 8 - 16 days[3]. The plants should be ready to plant out 8 - 10 months later[3]. Root cuttings[5]. Layering[5]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Parkinsonia+aculeata>

Pollinators

Bees

References

  1. [1]World Agroforesty Centre — http://www.worldagroforestry.org/ ↩︎An excellent online database of a huge range of trees giving very good information on each plant - its uses, ecology, identity, propagation, pests etc.
  2. [2]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
  3. [3]Brazilian Trees. Volume 1. 4th Edition. — Lorenzi. H. · Instituto Plantarum De Estudos Da Flora; Brazil. · 2002 · ISBN 85-86714-17-8 ↩︎Information on 350 species of Brazilian trees. Stunning photographs of each species, brief details on the plant, its uses and how to grow it from seed. A superb work, with the minor irritation that the translation from Portuguese is not of the best.
  4. [4]Trees and Shrubs of the Sahel. Their Characteristics and Uses. — von Maydell H. · Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit; Germany · 1990 · ISBN 3-8236-1198-4 ↩︎A well-researched book, usually with more than one photograph of each species and good information on the plant and its uses.
  5. [5]Invasive Species Compendium — http://www.cabi.org ↩︎An immense resource - in depth information on over 900 species of invasive plants (it also has information on animals, fungi etc).
  6. [6]Flora of Guatemala — Standley P.C. & J. A. Steyermark · 1946 - 1976 · http://www.archive.org/ ↩︎A superb reference, though somewhat dated. Gives lots of plant uses as well as information on plant habit and habitat. The entire flora (13 volumes) can now be downloaded from http://www.archive.org/
  7. [7]Nodulation Plants in GRIN Taxonomy — United States Department of Agriculture · http://www.ars-grin.gov/~sbmljw/cgi-bin/taxnodul.pl?language=en ↩︎An online database listing plants that have either positive or negative reports on root and stem nodulation with nitrogen-fixing bacteria.
  8. [8]Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk — http://www.hear.org/pier/scientificnames/index.html ↩︎A very good website detailing weed species that have been introduced into the Pacific Islands.
  9. [9]Native American Ethnobotany — Moerman. D. · Timber Press. Oregon. · 1998 · ISBN 0-88192-453-9 ↩︎Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.
  10. [10]Protein Quality and Antinutritional Factors of Wild Legume Seeds from the Sonoran Desert — Vázquez-Moreno L. & Robles-Burgueňo M.R. · 1996 ↩︎