Palo Chino
Havardia mexicana

Family: Fabaceae

OTHER NAMES
Spanish: tenaza

CHARACTERISTICS
Dependably deciduous tree, 30x20’. Flowers with white catkin flowers in March to April, followed by legume pods. More gray-green foliage than tenaza (Havardia pallens).

A Similar species, Havardia sonorae, is sometimes available though somewhat more frost tender.

LANDSCAPE USE
Shade tree

GROWING CONDITIONS
AN EXPLANAITION OF TERMS USED

SUN full to part sun
WATER moderate to low water
SOIL well-drained
BASIN middle to high
CONTAINER does ok in container but will not attain potential size
HARDINESS hardy to 15°F
FEEDING low

Photo by sglimp, iNaturalist

ECOLOGY
The flowers attract hummingbirds and myriads of bees and flower flies. This is a larval food for Marine Blue (Leptotes marina), Ceraunus Blue (Hemiargus ceraunus) butterflies, and is a good nest tree for birds.

ETHNOBOTANY
The wood of the Mexican ebony tree is used for furniture building, as a material for agave liquor stills, firewood, and as beams for building. The bark can be used to tan hides. The bark is brewed into a tea that can relieve upset stomachs.

NATURAL DISTRIBUTION
Native to a variety of habitats throughout Sonora, and on the tip of Baja California Sur.

TAXONOMY AND NAME
This species is in the Fabaceae, the legume family. There are 6 species of Havardia native to the Americas, ranging from Texas and northern Mexico through Central America to Colombia and Venezuela.
This plant was formerly known as Pithecellobium mexicanum.
The genus Havardia is named in honor of Valery Havard (February 18, 1846 – November 6, 1927), a career army officer, physician, author, and botanist. The species epitaph denotes where it is found.