Lysiloma candidum

Lysiloma candidum generally grows as a slender, straight, and dichotomously branched trunked tree up to 10 metres (33 ft) in height. The bark is smooth and silvery white, but dark on the small branches. The compound leaves are 3 to 7 cm long, with 1 to 3 pairs of pinnae. Each pinnae has 5 to 17 pairs of gray-green to blue-green oval leaflets, 8 to 22 mm long. The pinnate veins continue to the margin. The stipules are leaf-like, shaped oblong, oblique, and 6 to 15 mm long.[1][2]

The bracts are small and caducous. The flowers are capitate, with the heads pedunculate in short racemes or clusters. The bracteoles are similar to the calyx lobes but shorter. The calyx is 3 mm long, and the corolla is 3.5 mm long. The corolla and calyx lobes are pubescent (covered in hairs) and are thickened at the tip. There are 40 to 50 stamens united in a tube. The flowers form globose clusters of flowers with a creamy-white color, blooming from March through May. The flowers give off a light, spicy fragrance in the air around the plant.[1][2]

The fruit is a pod, suspended on a short stipe, hanging gracefully off of the slender branches. The pod is 8 to 15 cm long, and 25 to 30 mm wide, smooth, and reddish-brown. The thin walls of the pod fall away during dehiscence.[1][2]

This plant is a near-endemic to the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico, with a small occurrence in Sonora. On the peninsula, it occurs from Rancho El Barril in southeast Baja California state, along the gulf side of the peninsula into Baja California Sur, reaching the Cape region. It is also found on the adjacent islands in the Gulf of California. In Sonora, it is found on the west coast facing the Gulf.[3]

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  White bark
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  Detail of leaves
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  The pods
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  In habitat