Parkinsonia aculeata (Palo Verde)

This plant is a spiny shrub or small tree native from Mexico to northern Argentina and across the Caribbean. It grows in seasonally dry habitats and can reach about thirty feet tall. Its drooping leaves have long, flattened green axes bearing tiny leaflets that detach readily. Short spines remain along the stems after the leaves fall. The fragrant flowers have five petals: four yellow and one that can be orange or marked with orange spots.

The species tolerates drought and seasonal waterlogging. It has been introduced widely and is invasive in Australia, where it forms dense thorny thickets around waterways, restricts access and displaces native vegetation. Its hard-coated seeds spread in floodwater and can remain dormant before germinating in warm, wet conditions. Photographed in the department of Atlántico, Colombia.