Mescal Bean, Frijolito, Texas Mountain Laurel         so-FO-ra

• Evergreen shrub 3 feet (0.9 m) tall, to tree-like, often with multiple trunks, to 33 feet (10 m) tall.  Leaves alternate, compound (pinnate), 3-5 pairs of leaflets, leaflets oblong to obovate, notched at tip, mid-green above, silvery and silky below.  Flowers pea-like, 2.5 cm long, violet-blue, fragrant, in terminal clusters (racemes) 3-5 cm long; blooms in spring.  Fruit oblong pod, pubescent, to 20 cm long, hard and woody, indehiscent pod that is somewhat constricted between the seeds, which are red and poisonous.
• Sun and light shade, tolerates alkaline soil and intense heat.  The seeds are poisonous, so remove young fruit if children are present to prevent seed development.
• Hardy to USDA Zone 7      Native to southeastern New Mexico to central and western Texas and adjacent Mexico.
• Only a few selections available, including:
  • ‘Alba’  -  white flowers
  • ‘Silver Peso’  -  silvery foliage
• secundiflora: with flowers on one side of the stalk.