Diphysa americana

Native from Mexico through Central America to northern Colombia, this tree grows in seasonally dry forests and open areas. Its alternate, compound leaves have small oval leaflets with smooth margins, rounded or slightly notched tips and pale grayish-blue undersides. Bright yellow, pea-shaped flowers grow in clusters along the branches. The inflated seed pods have a central partition and turn from green to brown as they mature. The tree may shed part of its foliage during the dry season. Its wood is used for furniture, fence posts, tool handles and rural construction, and the species is also planted as an ornamental. Large cuttings root readily and are used to establish living fences in Costa Rica. Photographed in Panama.