Wikimedia Commons
Fabaceae
Mescal Bean Flower
Dermatophyllum secundiflorum
Vision and endurance.
- Family
- Fabaceae
- Genus
- Dermatophyllum
- Native to
- Texas, New Mexico, Northern Mexico
- Bloom season
- Spring
- Type
- shrub
- Height
- 10-35 ft
- Sunlight
- full sun to partial shade
- Soil
- well-drained, alkaline, rocky
- Water
- low
- Hardiness
- 7-10
- Lifespan
- perennial
Did you know
- The intensely fragrant flower clusters smell like grape soda or bubblegum and can perfume an entire garden.
- The bright red seeds are highly toxic, containing cytisine, and were used in vision-seeking rituals by Native American tribes before peyote replaced them.
- Also known as Texas mountain laurel, it is the official native shrub adopted by many Texas municipalities for landscaping.
- Growth is exceptionally slow, often just a few inches per year, but the plants can live for well over a century.
- The hard, shiny red seeds were used as trade beads by Indigenous peoples and have been found in archaeological sites dating back 10,000 years.
Color meanings
0
vision
1
endurance
2
spiritual insight
3
resilience