Large, evergreen shrub up to 15’ tall, 10’ wide. Flowers throughout the warm season with yellow flowers followed by legume seed pods. As plants grow taller, the become more tree-like.

Plant in full to part sun. Moderate to low water when established. Hardy to 15-20°F, but may drop some leaves and have tip damage when temps dip that low (very rare in Tucson).

When plants are large they are great habitat plants for birds. The flowers are nectar rich and love by butterflies and other pollinators. Seeds used by granivorous birds. This species is the host plant for the caterpillars of the curve-winged metalmark (Emesis emesia).

In Hawaii the flowers are used in leis.

Formerly known as Caesalpinia mexicana. The genus name, Erythrostemon, derives from the greek erythro meaning red, and stemon, Greek for stamen, a trait of some species of this genus. The species mexicanus refers to Mexico of which this plant is mostly native to.

Widely distributed in thornscrub and seasonally dry tropical forests from the extreme lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas in the United States and south to central Mexico. Its range in Mexico includes the northeast and further south along the Gulf coast as well as the Pacific coast in Nayarit, Jalisco, Colima, and a small portion of Sinaloa.

Erythrostemon mexicanus on iNaturalist

Photo by Prahlad balaji, Wikipedia