Mariosousa heterophylla

Mariosousa heterophylla
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Fabales
Family:	Fabaceae
Subfamily:	Caesalpinioideae
Clade:	Mimosoid clade
Genus:	Mariosousa
Species:	M. heterophylla
Binomial name
Mariosousa heterophylla (Rose) Seigler & Ebinger [1]
Synonyms [1] [2]
Acacia willardianaRose 1890 Mariosousa willardiana(Rose 1890) Seigler & Ebinger 2006 Prosopis heterophyllaBenth. 1846 Senegalia heterophylla(Benth. 1846) Britton & Rose 1928

Mariosousa heterophylla, also called the palo blanco tree (which is also applied to Ipomoea arborescens ), ^[3] palo liso, guinola, ^[4] and Willard acacia, is a normally evergreen mimosoid plant in the genus Mariosousa native to Mexico. The Spanish common name translates into 'white stick', defining its peeling white bark. A compound called willardiine, that acts as an agonist in glutamate receptors, can be isolated from M. heterophylla. ^{[5] [6]}

Description

It can grow 10–20 ft or more with a spread of 1⁄3 to 2⁄3 the height. It is a very slender tree with few branches as well as leaves. The petiolar-rachis is characteristically long and functions as a cladophyll. it has a white or yellow-colored peeling off bark. The leaves have 5–6 leaflets in the end. It may drop leaves in autumn and winter. The flowers are like catkins, rod or bottle-brush-like, white or light yellow in color. The pods are multichambered, and 3–4 in long specimens. ^[7] The flowers occur in pale yellow spikes. ^[8]

Distribution and habitat

The plant is endemic to Sonora (Sonoran Desert), Mexico. It prefers rocky bajdas, slopes and arroyos from 0 to 2,000 feet elevation. ^[9] It is a popular ornamental tree in arid areas, especially in the southwestern U.S. ^[10]

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  The peeling white bark of Mariosousa heterophylla
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References

1. Seigler DS; Ebinger JE (2018). "New Combinations in Parasenegalia and Mariosousa (Fabaceae: Mimosoideae)" (PDF). Phytologia. 100 (4): 256–259.
2. Seigler DS, Ebinger JE, Miller JT (2006). "Mariosousa, a New Segregate Genus from Acacia s.l. (Fabaceae, Mimosoideae) from Central and North America" . Novon. 16 (3): 413–420. doi:10.3417/1055-3177(2006)16[413:MANSGF]2.0.CO;2. S2CID   86112681.
3. Phillips, S. J.; Patricia Wentworth Comus (2000). A natural history of the Sonoran Desert (PDF). Arizona: Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum Press. p. 230. ISBN   0-520-21980-5.
4. Dimmitt, M. A. "Acacia willardiana". Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. ASDM Sonoran Desert Museum Digital Library.
5. Klaassen, C. D.; John Barr Watkins (2010). "Toxic Agents" (PDF). Casarett and Doull's essentials of toxicology. USA: McGraw-Hill Prof Med/Tech. p. 374. ISBN   978-0-07-176651-7.
6. Atta-ur- Rahman (2000). "Interference of Alkaloids" (PDF). Bioactive Natural Products (Part B), Part 2. Amsterdam: Alsevier Science B. V. p. 72. ISBN   9780080542010.
7. Moore, Tony. "Acacia willardia, Palo blanco, Fabaceae Family". Government of Arizona. Archived from the original on 2002-09-18. Retrieved 2011-09-24.
8. Jaeger, E. C. (1957). The North American deserts (PDF). California: Stanford University Press. p.  256. ISBN   0-8047-0498-8. Acacia willardiana.
9. "Acacia willardiana". Germplasm Resources Information Network . Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture . Retrieved 23 January 2018.
10. "Great Design Plant: Palo Blanco Softens Sharp Desert Angles". Houzz. Retrieved 2021-09-03.

• Media related to Acacia willardiana at Wikimedia Commons
• Data related to Mariosousa heterophylla at Wikispecies