Kauaʻi record · kba_plant_parkinsonia_aculeata
Mexican Palo Verde
Parkinsonia aculeata
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About Mexican Palo Verde
Mexican Palo Verde (Parkinsonia aculeata) is an introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi by Bishop Museum’s 2025 checklist and the 2026 Smithsonian checklist. Its checklist classification is naturalized; current extent is unassessed. Native from the southern United States through Mexico and parts of tropical America and strongly adapted to seasonally dry environments. Green stems maintain photosynthesis after leaflets fall, while hard seeds support persistence after drought. Bishop Museum and Smithsonian document naturalized Kauaʻi occurrence; present extent and effects are unknown.
Kauaʻi evidence
Taxonomic identity, tree form, diagnostic morphology and island occurrence use the linked reviewed sources. Historical planting, cultivation, naturalization and invasive status are separate. Generated imagery is not occurrence evidence.
Names and classification
- Scientific name
- Parkinsonia aculeata
- Common names
- Mexican Palo Verde · Jerusalem thorn
- Other names
- Parkinsonia aculeata · Mexican palo verde · Jerusalem thorn
- Record type
- Species
Kauaʻi occurrence and status
- Kauaʻi occurrence
- Recorded on Kauaʻi
- Origin
- Introduced
- Conservation status
- Not yet assessed
- Evidence date
- 2026-10-06
- Evidence limits
- Present island-wide abundance, occupied habitat, recruitment, population trend, and ecological effects have not been quantified; no invasive severity is inferred from checklist or forestry status.
Habitat and ecology
- Habitats
- Not yet assessed
- Food and resource needs
- Not yet assessed
- Reproduction
- Insect-visited yellow flowers produce constricted pods containing hard-coated seeds. Water, animals, soil movement, and disturbance can redistribute seed; Kauaʻi-specific dispersal, seed-bank persistence, and recruitment rates are unmeasured.
- Shelter
- Not yet assessed
- Growth form
- Shrub or small tree
Threats and conservation
- Monitoring
- Not yet assessed
- Data gaps
- Current population extent and trajectory · Additional species-specific ecological and conservation sources
Process and seasonal context
- Seasonal timing
- Not yet assessed
- Seasonal description
- Mexican Palo Verde (Parkinsonia aculeata) is an introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi by Bishop Museum’s 2025 checklist and the 2026 Smithsonian checklist. Its checklist classification is naturalized; current extent is unassessed. Native from the southern United States through Mexico and parts of tropical America and strongly adapted to seasonally dry environments. Green stems maintain photosynthesis after leaflets fall, while hard seeds support persistence after drought. Bishop Museum and Smithsonian document naturalized Kauaʻi occurrence; present extent and effects are unknown.
Sources and further reading
- https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:512242-1
- https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:512242-1/general-information
- https://hbs.bishopmuseum.org/publications/pdf/tr75.pdf
- https://editedimages.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/Imadaetal.2025Hawaiianvascularplants.xlsx
- https://doi.org/10.5479/si.32124043