Paloverde is a spiny shrub or small tree, normally about 15 feet, with long, graceful, slightly drooping branches bearing many long, delicate leaves and sprays of yellow flowers. The 5 yellow petals of the flower, 1/3-2/3 inch long, are almost equal, but 1 has a honey gland at its base and soon becomes red; it remains on the stalk longer than the others. The Paloverde has a profusion of blossoms through the warm months, especially after rains. The seedpods are 3-5 inches long, narrow, and constricted between the seeds. The leaves are unusual. The leaf stem produces 2 stalks, almost parallel and 15-18 inches long, with 10-25 pairs of leaflets on each. Theleaflets usually fall off during the summer, and the stems then carry on the function of leaves.Native from central Texas south as far as northern South America and west to Arizona, this is a very fast growing, graceful-looking tree for poor soils, with unusual green bark and a long bloom period. It is drought-, heat-, and saline tolerant. This beautiful but thorny tree does best in spots that are neither too moist nor too dry. With too much moisture, it will seed out aggressively. With too little moisture, it will lose all its leaves. The drought leaf loss is not necessarily an aesthetic problem, though, because chlorophyll production shifts to the trunk and branches, rendering them an even brighter green. The word “Jerusalem” in the common name Jerusalem Thorn does not refer to the Middle Eastern city but is a corruption of the Spanish and Portuguese word girasol, meaning “turning toward the sun.” This tree requires full sun.