Palo Jócono
Gretheria sonorae
Family: Fabaceae
OTHER NAMES
Sonoran Ebony
CHARACTERISTICS
Semi-deciduous trees reaching up to 40’ or more. Trunks have lignescent stipules that form very unusual patterns on older trees. Foliage is on shorter pinnae than the other plants formerly placed in the genus Pithecellobium. Fuzzy catkin flowers arrive in spring and are off-white. Legume pods follow. This plant is seldom in cultivation.
LANDSCAPE USE
Medium sized shade tree.
GROWING CONDITIONS
AN EXPLANAITION OF TERMS USED
SUN full to part sun
WATER moderate to low
SOIL not picky, but well-drained preferred
BASIN middle to high
CONTAINER does ok in a container but will not attain full size
HARDINESS not well-tested but at least into the mid-20s °F
FEEDING low
Photo of unusual trunks by marthajudithosunablancas on iNaturalist
ECOLOGY
Attractive to hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies. This is a larval food for Marine Blue (Leptotes marina), Ceraunus Blue (Hemiargus ceraunus) butterflies, and is a good nest tree for birds.
ETHNOBOTANY
Small woodenware objects are made from its wood.
NATURAL DISTRIBUTION
Found in deciduous dry forest and thorn scrub and along washes in mesquite grassland along the coastal plain in Sonora and Sinoloa as well as on the coastal plain of Baja California Sur.
TAXONOMY AND NAME
This species is in the Fabaceae, the legume family. There are 2 species of Gretheria native to Mexico.
This plant was formerly known as Pithecellobium sonorae and Havardia sonorae.
The generic name honours Rosaura Grether González, an extraordinary and prolific Mexican botanist. The species, sonorae, denotes where this species is mostly found.
Leaves are in shorter pinnae than the other, related, Havardia species. Photo by J. Fernando Pío León, iNaturalist
The flowers are typical for plants placed in Pithecellobium/Havardia, catkin-like whitish flowers, usually in spring. Photo by Adolfo Diaz, iNaturalist
Pods of Havardia sonorae, photo by Sue Carnahan, SEINET
Plants are often multi-trunked, and often form incredible bark patterns due to thorns. Photo by J. Fernando Pío León, iNaturalist