Another Palo Blanco tree (white stick)!!! But this tree is exclusive to the Baja California Peninsula, where I am from. Sometimes I imagine that the cities of Baja California Sur such as La Paz, Los Cabos and Constitución are full of Palo Blancos that provide shade to the streets and pedestrians, being such a beautiful tree that does not require care or irrigation. and that is emblematic of the region. But it is also beautiful to go out in the wild and come across a stream full of Palo Blancos, as happens on the Ciudad Constitución - Tembabichi road, where I have witnessed Palo Blanco Bosques.
It is a perennial tree, from the family of Leguminosae (cousin of the mesquite and other trees that produce pods), it can grow up to 30ft tall and has some characteristics that make it very special: the first and most important is the color from its silver-white trunk, which stands out in the distance, the second is its flower that gives off a pleasant smell, and the third is its foliage, the color of its leaves is grayish-green. There is another notable feature, its trunk tends to grow in a "Y" shape, which has made this tree an important species for life in the countryside, where these trunks were traditionally used as corner walls for huts.
Legend has it that the Bay of La Paz in Baja California Sur, was full of these beautiful trees but a local saddler removed them all, since the bark of the trunk was and still is used to dye leather. Although considered endemic to Baja California, Palo Blanco tree can be found in small areas in Sonora, especially near San Carlos and Guaymas. In my own experience, I have successfully propagated three of these trees here in Tucson, they are already two years old and almost my size, 1.50 meters tall, despite the fact that they grow fast, they still do not have a white trunk, they are green and have not yet flowered. It was very easy to grow them from seed and I hope people are more encouraged to grow this type of native trees that provide many benefits to the ecosystem and to us in our cities, reduce the heat island, provide habitat for birds, provide food for insects, gives beauty and sense of belonging!
Type: Perennial tree, evergreen in areas where temperatures do not drop below 25°F.
Size: Up to 30ft tall.
Water use: Very little.
Flower season: March to May.
Flowers: Cream-colored puffed balls with a pleasant fragrance.
Food for: Pollinators!
Where to plant: Direct sun.
Distribution: Almost endemic to the Baja California Peninsula, some specimens can be found in the central west of Sonora, but there are many in the islands of the Gulf of California, and in streams from Santa Rosalia to the south of the peninsula.
Ancestral use: The missionaries of Baja California used the ink from the bark to dye leather, an activity that is still present in the ranches.
Landscape design: This tree is ideal for shade, it is tall, has a beautiful bark and fragrant flowers. If you want to imitate it in its wild state, this tree can be combined with columnar cacti such as sweet pitaya (stenocereus thurberi), cardón (pachycereus pringlei), cardón barbón
(Pachycereus pecten-aboriginum), among others. It can also be accompanied with plants that do not grow very tall so that the trunk of the tree is appreciated, for example annual flowers such as lupines (Lupinus succulentus) and bluebells (Phacelia parryi), to create a pollinator garden. It is ideal to plant it in a place with a dark background so that the color of its trunk stands out and in a place where it is protected from frost.
Sources:
Books:
Baja California Plant Field Guide 3rd Edition, Norman C. Roberts and J. Rebman.
Native Plants for Southwestern Landscapes by Judy Mielke.