Cascalote Season

[Silas_Sancona]

As autumn days continue to shorten and many summer flowering plants start to slow down,  a moderately common small tree, originating from the dry tropical thornscrub/ forest areas along the coastal and near coastal plain in far southern Sonora and neighboring Sinaloa takes the stage to offer up quite a show in an otherwise slow season around the valley/ in other parts of Arizona where planted.

Once known ( and currently sold as ) as Caesalpinia cacalaco, Cascalote is one of those small flowering tree options which deserves wider appreciation where it can survive. It is also one of numerous " Caesalpinia " which were broken away from the original Genus, Caesalpinia, and re-assigned to several new Genera relatively recently.. In this case, Cascalote was placed in the genus Tara which now includes 2 other formerly Caesalpinia species : C. spinosa, and C. vesicaria. Several other Caesalpinia were placed in their own Genera at the same time as well.. including the commonly seen Yellow Mexican Bird of Paradise.

As a species, Cascalote is listed as an evergreen to mostly evergreen small to medium-sized tree with an average height between 15-20ft in height. Old specimens in habitat, or an ideal site in cultivation can occasionally be found 5 or so feet taller. Unlike the more common Red, and Mex. Yellow Bird of Paradise, Cascalote foliage is larger and darker green, sometimes presenting a bluish hue.

Rough textured and somewhat colorful Trunks can be trained singular or multiple. In the wild, trunks and larger branches can be covered in varying degrees of knobby spurs, topped with a Cat Claw -like thorn. In cultivation, a relatively thorn-less selection sold as "Smoothie " exhibits some of the same knobby thorns, though they tend to be far and few between.  For obvious reasons, this selection is what most people see in commercial landscapes and Parks around town. Regardless, the thorns present on more wild selections can be easily knocked off with a hammer, much like the " spurs " that grow on the trunks of some Ceiba species. Growing seed obtained from both for comparison, and to see -to what degree- the thorn-less trait carries over from thorn-less parents.

While extremely drought and heat tolerant, Cascalote does better/ will grow faster if provided a deep soaking once or twice a month June-September, and soaked once or twice thru the cooler months, especially where winter rainfall may occur.

While a few flowers may pop on and off mid spring and through summer, the main show is late October- December ( here ) possibly longer if winter conditions are drier and warmer than usual, and further south where native. Flower color is typical of most Caesalpinia-type plants.. Yellow, and borne in long spikes at the end of branches/stems. They are also fragrant and very attractive to Bees/ other pollinating insects which may be active at flowering time.  Seed is produced in a typical Bean shaped pod and slowly transitions from green to a rich coppery red when ripe. Individual seeds are hard and  light Brown.

General cold hardiness is suggested down to 25F but it has been suggested trees can survive -and quickly rebound from- any damage sustained from cold exposure down to 20F.  Plant in full blazing sun.  No fertilizer needed since, as is the case with most Legume-type plants, roots of Cascalote may fix Nitrogen.  A great, easy to maintain patio-type tree that can fit into smaller spaces without much trouble.

Some pictures of a few of the many specimens seen while on a Halloween day walk around Veteran's Oasis Park earlier today..

Overall look of the tree




Flowers, from afar..




Closer up









Trunks.. As mentioned in past threads where i have referenced this species, would be great for attaching Tillandsia and/or Orchids to. Notice the lack of Spurs/thorns on the trunks as well. Have seen other specimens ( one at Huntington Botanical in particular ) where the trunk/ branches are covered.



Interesting scene here.. Until today, hadn't really explored this section of the park but came across several un-tamed ( essentially untrimmed/ allowed to grow naturally ) specimens growing on the 2nd of the park's two hills. None of these appear to receive as much water as those in the more tended portion of the Park/ Museum/ Police station but, for the most part, look great.. There are a few closer to the top of the hill which have much less foliage atm, likely from this summer's lack of rain. Imagine trees in habitat might go through a similar cycle under extreme drought conditions, esp. on sites where the soil depth is shallow. Imagine the scene is also reminiscent of what you might see while traveling on a back road somewhere in coastal southern Sonora/ Sinaloa, minus more green grass/forbs ( get more late summer/early fall rains there ), some other dry tropical-type trees/ columnar cacti native to the same region.


While fairly common here and in warmer spots in/around Tucson, Cascalote has only recently been planted more in California, outside of places like Palm Springs. Very likely it will survive in all but the coolest and/or wettest coastal or far northern areas of the state, especially if treated like you would most Desert and/or other natives which tolerate summer water/ don't need much extra.. ( or any.. ) through the winter. 

During a season where a lot of things start to slow down/ offer less color, Cascalote is one of the few trees which extends the show through the final months of the year.

A couple extra shots while walking around the park..

Main Lake, looking south/southeast toward the San Tan Mountains.


Looking west across one of several recharge ponds in the park. Area is one of two very well known local hot spots among birders here in the East Valley and attracts numerous rarely seen species which wander north from Mexico on a regular basis. Unlike Gilbert Water Ranch ( the Riparian Preserve ) there is more varied terrain to explore here, and two different stream habitats to check out. Much more parking here as well..


Enjoy...

Edited November 1, 2020 by Silas_Sancona
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[Peter]

Love it-nice thread Nathan!   I germinated some seed from a local tree at Pierce College this summer and just planted out a baby.  It was from a super thorny selection; not sure why anyone would bother with a smoothie-the thorns are half the charm imho!   Seems like we have enough heat here in Woodland Hills for them; not sure if we can get that kind of flower production though.  Great tree!

[Silas_Sancona]

37 minutes ago, Peter said:

Love it-nice thread Nathan!   I germinated some seed from a local tree at Pierce College this summer and just planted out a baby.  It was from a super thorny selection; not sure why anyone would bother with a smoothie-the thorns are half the charm imho!   Seems like we have enough heat here in Woodland Hills for them; not sure if we can get that kind of flower production though.  Great tree!

Agree.. Like both selections myself but understand why other people might be intimidated by the thorns on the normal variety ( even though i'm sure some of the same people grow Roses, lol. ) Regardless, even out of flower they're very attractive and grow at a fast enough pace that you don't have to wait too long for them to go from seedling size, to something bigger. Imagine, if Silk Floss trees flower like mad where you're at, these should also put on a good fall display most years there.

[Peter]

Here's the parent tree of my seedlings-now those are proper thorns!