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grant_in_arizona

What is this shrub/tree @ Phx zoo?

grant_in_arizona
9 years ago

Hi everyone,

Here's another fun plant mystery. I went to the Phoenix zoo yesterday (Jan 17th) and noticed this big shrub/small tree. Any idea what it is?

I like the zoo for the plants more than the animals (nearly all of the pics I took are plants, LOL). This plant definitely caught my eye. There were some seed pods on the ground so I grabbed a couple. It had leaves almost all the way to the ground and a multi-branched think-trunked mutli trunk shape. It was about 10 feet tall and about 6 feet wide.

Foliage: it looks sort of like Texas mountain laurel, but it's definitely not (especially when you see the seed pods). It's similar though, thinner and more of a waxy bloom/coating all over each leaflet.

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Foliage and the thin, papery-but-rattles seed pods. At first I thought it was a carob tree (again seed pod is wrong and leaves are too thin) with frost damage, but it's not damage, it's the super thin, winged seed pods in clusters.

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Finally, the seed pods. If you shake them, you can hear the small individual seeds rattling inside. They're inside the central core, not out in the wings. Interesting!

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I know, I know, a pic with blooms would help, but it didn't have any, LOL.


Ideas, suggestions, or definite ID's are welcomed. I'll be planting some seeds just to see what the heck it is, LOL. If you know, don't be shy. Happy gardening!

Thanks!
Grant

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