Feather Tree
Lysiloma watsonii

GROWING CONDITIONS
AN EXPLANAITION OF TERMS USED

SUN full to part sun
WATER moderate to low
SOIL not picky, but well-drained
HARDINESS hardy to 25°F, choose warm microclimates
BASIN middle to high zone
CONTAINER tolerates containers
NUTRITION low
MAINTENANCE very little

ECOLOGY
This is a larval food plant for the large orange sulfur (Phoebis agarithe). Nectar plant for butterflies and bees. Seeds for granivorous birds. This tree provides excellent shelter for animals such as quail, cardinals, mockingbird and doves during hot weather and nesting season.

ETHNOBOTANY
The wood is used in rural parts of Mexico for furniture. The inner layer of dark bark is brewed into medicinal tea to relieve gas and symptoms of liver problems.

NATURAL DISTRIBUTION
Feather tree is found on gravelly and rocky slopes and canyon walls, from 2,500-4,000 ft. in Arizona, Sonora & Chihuahua. In Arizona it is only found on south-facing slopes, as in the Rincon Mountains.

TAXONOMY AND NAME
This plant is in the Fabaceae, the legume family. There are 10 species of Lysiloma which range from Arizona and New Mexico through Mexico and Central America to Costa Rica, and in Florida, Cuba, Hispaniola, the Bahamas, and Turks and Caicos Islands.
Often sold in the trade as Lysiloma thornberi.
Lysiloma comes from the Greek lysis for loosening and loma for edge or fringe, while watsonii is likely named for Sereno Watson (1826-1892) an assistant to Asa Gray.

A very similar species, Lysiloma divaricatum, can easily be confused with this species. The main difference between Lysiloma watsonii and L. divaricatum is their geographical distribution and leaf size, with Lysiloma watsonii being a smaller, more localized tree native to the southwestern United States (particularly Arizona) while Lysiloma divaricatum is a larger tree found throughout Mexico and Central America with significantly larger leaves.