Mother asked me to post a couple of pictures and see if anyone has any idea what the name of this bush is. Your help is so appreciated.
I believe it is a mimosa tree.
I know what mimosa trees look like as I lived among them for 26 years. This isn't a mimosa. I wish it were. I don't have any now.
I think it is a George.
Good Night.
Which one George W. or George H. W. ?
I don't think I want either one in my back yard. But you might be closer than you think. The closest we could come from what we could find in books and internet was mesquite, but it isn't quite a match. Could you work on that a bit?
Mesquite is the official tree of West Texas, it has totally engulfed West Texas and New Mexico and is moving North. I would say this is Mesquite, it has the Beans and the Thorns, it appears.
Frank
I didn't think we were in mesquite territory but then, we didn't used to be in armadillo territory either.
Wilma, it is in Central Oklahoma . My Guess is that someone planted this in the area there. The Ranchers here tell me it came from Old Mexico with the Cattle Drives from there and as the Cattle eat the Beans the beans were in the droppings and moved North in that way plus birds carrying them. It is had to control.
Frank
Just goes to prover "What a whole lot of S--- " that is spread, will do to this country
Sorry just could not resist --- my fingers over ruled my good sense.
I too think it is a mesquite
If it matters, we have a local barbecue that uses nothing but mesquite wood.
Yes, lots of places in Texas use Mesquite, but we personally prefer hickory. Frank smokes quite a lot of meat for family gatherings, reunions, etc. The thing about Mesquite is it spreads so fast--like the cedars are spreading in Oklahoma and Kansas. The Mesquite saps a tremendous amount of water from the subsurface. I have heard people say that they keep the thorns picked off and after awhile, they don't produce thorns. If that is true, they would make a great shade tree as they grow quite large, but you would still probably have to contend with the beans.
The wood is also used in making furniture, bowls, and different art I must say it is beautiful too.
Myrna
I got into this one late, but you are right, that is definitely a young mesquite, probably" honey" mesquite but maybe "velvet." Those beans gave it away. They are quite edible and can be ground into flour called "pinole." Critters love those beans and bees love the flowers. The bigger they get, the deeper the big tap root goes, that's why they are so successful in desert regions. I learned about those, creosote and rabbit bush, Saguaro and others when we visited El Paso and Tuscon.
Wacky weed.
Definitely wacky weed.
Wilma,
You know Don Seaton's sophomore class out at the High school has to identify trees and do a leaf collection for his class. It is quite involved, but what I am getting at is: Why don't you call Lisa and Gary Harrod's daughter, Kayla, or Michelle and Kevin Weber's son, Tanner, and ask them if they would bring their "tree books" over and secure the identity to your mystery? Even Don Seaton himself might come over. Every year sophomores scour the community/county to gather leaves and identify trees. It might be worth a try and is also good for the youth to make a connection with others in their town/community. Just an idea.
A very good idea :laugh:
Another round of applause for our Emptynest.!!! YEAAAAAAAAAAAAA ** Teacher....you are some kind of good !!!!
Kayla is my Niece and pretty sharp, I will accept her answer, I know if she doesn't know she will say so..
Frank
I am still in a quandary. One more bit of information. The leaves on this are about 8 inches long and the leaf petals are about an inch, a dark green and tough. The seed pods are about 2 inches long and turn purple as they ripen. Does this still fit the mesquite? My sources disagree on the length of the leaves and the seed pods. One saying that the leaves and pods are like mine and the internet source saying that the leaves are 2 to 3 inches and the pods up to 8 inches. Can you tell me, without taking a trip to see, what the length of the leaves and pods of the southwestern mesquite is? Also, mine doesn't have the thorns the book describes. I have cut this thing off a couple of times, thinking it was the coffee bean tree that can become a nuisance here.
Wilma, Mesquite leaves and texture can or are somewhat different in areas or times of more moisture and/or cooler. My hunting lease is covered with mesquite I will try to get out there and take a picture for you. Also the thorns are bigger the older the growth.
Frank
That is good to know about the thorns. This tree? might not be more than a few years old. Cutting it off several times would account for the branchiness. I won't cut it again.
Okay. We have identified the tree. According to my Aunt June, Mother's sister, this is a partridge pea. Uncle Bill, Mother's brother-in-law, this partridge pea is a weed.
Here is the one from Aunt June's yard which looks like Mother's. I say, if it is a weed, cut it out of there. ha ha
Now, we have a real problem. I Googled partridge pea and I don't think this looks anything like a partridge pea. Someone else jump in here.
Here is a link for a partridge pea plant. I don't think my Aunt June is right, Mother.
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=CHFA2 (http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=CHFA2)
I am not really convinced that it is a mesquite tree either.
Try searching forbs for partridge pea. It gives a better picture which I think is a drawing or painting rather than a photograph.
According to forbs, the mesquite blossom and seed pods are nothing like this plant. The blossoms were right for partridge pea and the seed pods are right. The leaves on mine and on June's are also the same. Her plant and my plant are sturdier than the plants I remember seeing before, but the difference could be that what I saw before was in a field and these plants are in tended gardens. Her garden is tended anyway.
The partridge pea has yellow flowers when it blooms and I don't think your bush/tree had yellow blossoms.
Yes, the blossoms were yellow. This is the first time I have seen it bloom. The blossoms were all at the top of the stem the way the pods are. They weren't a bright yellow but a more lemony yellow. Isn't there anybody else out there that has seen this plant?
Wilma, maybe you can smoke the leaves and see if it has any bang to it.
Frank
Okay. Here is a picture of a partridge pea. If you are sure that is what it is, then I'll quit trying to prove you wrong.
That is the blossom except mine were a little paler and the leaves are the same. I think my leaves might be larger but there was plenty of water for awhile.
Wilma, it certainly is not Mesquite.
Frank
One down -- One to go !!
Janet, I tried to send the pictures to Robert Thurston, one of the Horticulturist at the Wild Animal Park, to see if he could identify the plant. Here is what he wrote:
For some reason, the pictures did not come through. The text of what they are is written on the bottom of the page but no attachments received. Try again as I would love to see them.
So, if you could e-mail the pictures to "rthurston@sandiegozoo.org" I'm sure he will try to identify the plant.
Have a good day!
Now I've got a stranger too. Last May I bought a couple of little cacti and planted them with some potting soil in an old trug. A little something extra started to come up that I too, thought was a little Mimosa. It's now a little tree with tiny sweet pea shaped blossoms at the top. The little flowers are dark red on the out side and yellow inside. Now its throwing out long skinny round "beans,'' green, from the stem and not associated with the flowers. They must be some kind of wild pea, but the flowers don't look at all like wild partridge peas that we see along field edges sometimes. This one has the little segmented leaflets on 8 inch leaf stems that fold up at night. Any ideas?
Diane, I don't what the plant is, neither do I know what a trug is. Is it some sort of container or a misspelling? Please don't tell me it is a misspelling. A trug sounds interesting.
Anybody from Britain will know what a trug is. It's a longish garden basket, maybe 4 inches deep, made of split wood slats, long, not woven, with a curved slat handle overtop the short side and long wooden "feet" that go across the bottom. It's usually held together with brass or copper nails. Sometimes it's called a Sussex trug. I have several. They are great for picking veggies. One cheap one has gotten old and grungy so I used it as a planter.
Thank you, Diane. I have seen those and thought they were just another form of basket. Now I am educated.
You are right, they are just another form of basket. They had origionally been used as measuring devices for wheat, oats etc. The really nice ones are made of chestnut and willow and are very tough and long lasting.
Quote from: Bonnie M. on September 07, 2007, 10:43:19 AM
Janet, I tried to send the pictures to Robert Thurston, one of the Horticulturist at the Wild Animal Park, to see if he could identify the plant. Here is what he wrote:
For some reason, the pictures did not come through. The text of what they are is written on the bottom of the page but no attachments received. Try again as I would love to see them.
So, if you could e-mail the pictures to "rthurston@sandiegozoo.org" I'm sure he will try to identify the plant.
Have a good day!
Bonnie,
Of course, I will. Thanks.
The e-mail has been sent and we will await his answer. :laugh: :laugh:
The e-mail has been sent and we will await his answer
Robert doesn't work on the week-ends (usually,) so I'm sure it will be sometime next week before he answers. So, we'll "wait and see!"
An answer came to my e-mail today from Robert Thurston, the friend of Bonnie M's. Here is his answer about the plant.
Hello Janet:
I did a little research into Partridge Peas and this is what I found. Partridge Pea is (or was until it was renamed) a member of the genus Cassia - many species of which are common ornamentals. Cassias have yellow flowers, clustered on the ends of branches. Since they are a legume, the seed pods are bean like (or pea like), and they have divided leaves. Most of the ornamental Cassias that I am familiar with are 6 - 10 ft tall but the pictures that you sent me sure look like miniature versions of the cassias that I am familiar with. I would agree that it is most probably a Partridge Pea. Cassias are a different type of legume than beans or Lupines - they don't have that typical "sweet pea" type of flower with the typical banner and keel. Just for fun, the third sub-family of legumes are the Acacias - no petals at all. They all have "bean" pods though. Do Partridge Peas smell funny? Many of the ornamental Cassias (lots in South America) have a peculiar odor to the foliage? just curious.
Sincerely
Robert Thurston
Thank you Robert Thurston, and yes, forum members, I did thank him by e-mail and told him I was glad that Bonnie M. had a friend like him.
I don't know about the fragrance of the flowers. For some strange reason because I always smell flowers, I did not smell these flowers and now they are gone. The plant, however, is going to stay and I will smell them next summer. The seed pods smelled like shelling green peas.
Janet, is there any way you could send this to your Aunt June?
Why, yes, yes I can. ;D ;D ;D
Janet, I had a note from my friend, Robert Thurston, also. So, I think the mystery is resolved, or, maybe it always was! Robert has a whole lot of knowledge, regarding plants! I have a feeling that he enjoyed hearing from you, and providing an answer.
I think he did, too. I enjoyed hearing from him and his words were just like he was my next door neighbor.
He's that kind of a person. Never too busy to help out.