Haematoxylon brasiletto

[Silas_Sancona]

Some pictures of Haematoxylon brasiletto in flower and producing seed this summer.

Originally acquired from a Nursery in Tucson in March of 2013. Described as a Tropical species from the Thorn Scrub and Tropical Dry Forest region of N.W. Mexico, several specimens are reported to grow in both Tucson and the Phoenix area.

Did well back in San Jose and has performed well here in Bradenton thus far, putting on a lot of new growth since March. Hasn't skipped a beat with the humidity here either. Cold tolerance is believed to fall somewhere around 25- 27F but wouldn't be surprised if actual damage temps are a couple degrees lower. Can grow into a medium sized tree in frost-free areas, or stay scrubby, especially if not provided extra summer water. Trunks and larger branches of tree-sized specimens have an interesting look. Spiny but spectacular gem from Sonora. Here in FL. Have counted 6 Native bee species and a couple butterflies that swarm the flowers.

Flowers:

[Silas_Sancona]

A couple more:

[Silas_Sancona]

Bees make seeds

-Nathan-

[fastfeat]

Pretty flowers, but pretty copious pod production too. I always get concerned about introduced legumes from dry that seem too happy in SoFla. My concern is that the seed may germinate readily in the abundant FL rainfall normally lacking in its native range. Such plants, esp when spiny, can create some nasty thickets.

Not trying to discourage you; I'd just keep an eye on this one.

[Silas_Sancona]

Perfectly relevant advise considering some of the previously introduced exotic legumes that have gone crazy here.

At this point, have noticed that while this one is producing a lot of pods, id say roughly half are developing embryos. Even so, have had seed form, only to fail to complete development before ripening. While totally different conditions exist between AZ and FL, notes gained from the Yuma DELEP evaluation field suggest this species has only produced occasional offspring off what trees they have growing in their plot. While my specimen has gained size this year, overall growth rate has been on the slow side.

-Nathan-