Parkinsonia aculeata
Jerusalem thorn ( Parkinsonia aculeata )
The Jerusalem thorn ( Parkinsonia aculeata ) is a small, 7-9 m tall shrub or small tree. Its natural habitat is in North and South America, but is cultivated in tropical regions around the world. The species is a popular ornamental tree.
Description
The Jerusalem thorn grows as a small, 7-9 meters tall, evergreen and reinforced with thorns tree or shrub with smooth, green bark and overhanging branches. The leaves are bipinnate. The first-order pinnae up to 40 inches long, made of a wing-like enlarged leaf stalks and are arranged in groups of one to three pairs. The numerous small leaflets of the second order are 2.5 to 8.5 millimeters long and 1 to 3.5 mm wide, obovate, elliptic to oblong and are 1 to 2 millimeters long stems. The stipules at the base of the leaf are formed as thorns. The leaflets close at the onset of dusk. The flowers grow to 2-15 in loose, drooping, axillary clusters. The individual flowers are yellow, two inches wide butterfly flowers on 1.5 to 1.7 millimeters long stems. The sepals are about 6 mm long and oblong. The flag is 11 mm long, 6 mm wide and mottled orange. The ten stamens are orange with shaggy stamens. The ovary is hairy silky and has numerous ovules. When fruits are 7.5 to 10.5 cm long, made from 6 to 10 mm wide, leathery, hairless, constricted between the seeds and laterally inflated pods. The fruit of one to six elongated, smooth and mottled seeds are formed.
Dissemination
The natural range is in North America in Texas and Arizona in the United States and the Mexican states of Baja California Norte, Baja California Sur and Sonora, as well as in South America in Bolivia, Peru on the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. On the Cap Verde Islands, Australia, Asia, in other areas of North and South America and Hawaii the species has naturalized.
System
The Jerusalem thorn ( Parkinsonia aculeata ) is a species of the genus Parkinsonien ( Parkinsonia ) in the tribe Caesalpinieae, subfamily of carob plants ( Caesalpinioideae ), family Leguminosae ( Fabaceae ). The species was described in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus in his work Species Plantarum first time scientifically. The genus name Parkinsonia reminiscent of the English botanist John Parkinson ( 1567-1629 ). The specific epithet aculeata comes from the Latin and means " pungent ".
Use
The Jerusalem thorn is used as an ornamental shrub and hedge plant. The decoction of the bark, the leaves, the flowers and the seed is considered as lowering fever.