Introductory
SPECIES: Sophora secundiflora | Mescalbean Sophora 



ABBREVIATION : 
SOPSEC

SYNONYMS : 
NO-ENTRY


SCS PLANT CODE : 
   SOSE3


COMMON NAMES : 
   mescalbean sophora
   mescal-bean sophora
   mescal bean
   Texas mountain laurel
   mountain laurel
   Frijolillo
   Frigolito
   Frijollito
   Frijolito
   coralbean
   coral bean
   colorin
   big drunk bean
   red bean
   red-hots
   evergreen coralbean


TAXONOMY : 
Mescalbean sophora is a memeber of the bean family Fabaceae.  Its
currently accepted scientific name is Sophora secundiflora (Gomez
Ortega) Lag. ex DC. [12,16].


LIFE FORM : 
Tree, Shrub

FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS : 
No special status

OTHER STATUS : 
NO-ENTRY


COMPILED BY AND DATE : 
Ronald Uchytil/November 1990


LAST REVISED BY AND DATE : 
NO-ENTRY


AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION : 
Uchytil, Ronald J. 1990. Sophora secundiflora. In: Remainder of Citation

DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Sophora secundiflora | Mescalbean Sophora 



GENERAL DISTRIBUTION : 
Mescalbean sophora grows from southeastern New Mexico to central and
western Texas and adjacent Mexico [15,16].  


ECOSYSTEMS : 
   FRES32  Texas savanna
   FRES33  Southwestern shrubsteppe
   FRES34  Chaparral - mountain shrub
   FRES41  Wet grasslands


STATES : 
     NM  TX  MEXICO


ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS : 
     AMIS  BIBE  CACA  GUMO


BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS : 
   13  Rocky Mountain Piedmont
   14  Great Plains


KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS : 
   K031  Oak - juniper woodlands
   K045  Ceniza shrub
   K059  Trans-Pecos shrub savanna
   K060  Mesquite savanna
   K061  Mesquite - acacia savanna
   K078  Southern cordgrass prairie
   K086  Juniper - oak savanna


SAF COVER TYPES : 
    66  Ashe juniper - redberry (Pinchot) juniper
    68  Mesquite


SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES : 
NO-ENTRY


HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES : 
Mescalbean sophora is generally not a dominant but occurs as scattered
individuals in many plant communities.  It may become locally abundant
in riparian deciduous forests.

VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Sophora secundiflora | Mescalbean Sophora 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
Mescalbean sophora wood has no commercial value [28].


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Mescalbean sophora is eaten by few animals.  Rock squirrels eat the
flowers [10].  


PALATABILITY : 
Mescalbean sophora is unpalatable to livestock [10].  


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
Mescalbean sophora leaves, flowers, and seeds contain several alkaloids,
which make them poisonous to humans and animals [13].  Data from a
nutritional analysis of mescalbean sophora plants from the Edwards
Plateau region of Texas are presented below [11]:

                                        percentage of dry matter
                               -----------------------------------------
            date     % water   ash   cell   phos   protein   digestible 
         collected                   wall                    org. matter 

seeds      6/28        6        3     35    0.11     12         85
leaves     6/28       50        6     41    0.10     17         57
leaves     7/27       52        6     46    0.12     18         53


COVER VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
Mescalbean sophora is easily propagated from seed but not from cuttings
[21].  Container-grown plants are easily transplanted [21].


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
Mescalbean sophora is a widely used landscape plant in Texas, New
Mexico, and Arizona [5,21].  Plants are used as small specimen trees,
and in hedges, screenings, and mass plantings [5,21].  Container-grown
nursery plants are readily available for transplanting.  Because the
seeds are toxic to humans, they are sometimes removed from plants in
landscape settings before they mature.

The brightly colored seeds are very hard and were used by Indians as
trade items and in necklaces and other jewelry [19,28].  The narcotic
properties of the seeds were exploited by Indians, who ground the seeds
and mixed the powder with mescal beverages to produce a powerfully
intoxicating drink [28].

Mescalbean sophora seeds are found in Mexican good-luck charms.  These
charms consist of a small pouch that contains a magnet with iron
filings, cereal grains, and the seeds of native plants [23].  

Mescalbean sophora flowers are a source of nectar for honey bees [10].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Toxicity:  The seeds of mescalbean sophora are highly toxic to humans.
Symptoms of poisoning, which appear within 1 hour, include nausea,
violent and bloody vomiting, headaches, vertigo, confusion, fever,
excessive thirst, cold sweat, respiritory problems, followed by
convulsions and death [23].

Mescalbean sophora's seeds, leaves, and flowers are poisonous to cattle,
sheep, and goats [13,22].  Cattle are most susceptible to poisoning by
leaves, while goats and sheep are more tolerant.  Affected animals often
recover if placed on a high-quality diet 22].

Pests:  Plants are primarily pest-free, except for infestations by
caterpillars of a moth in the family Pyralidae.  Caterpillar
infestations of mescalbean sophora have been controlled biologically
with a strain of bacteria (Bacillus thuringensis), which causes the
caterpillars to sicken and die [5].  Insecticide sprays such as Sevin or
diazinon may also be useful [5].

Control:  Plants are susceptible to phenoxy herbicides and are usually
killed with one moderate application [18].

BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Sophora secundiflora | Mescalbean Sophora 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Mescalbean sophora varies in size from a small shrub 3.3 feet (1 m) tall
to a slender tree up to about 33 feet (10 m) tall [19,28].  This
evergreen has upright branches, velvety twigs, and 4- to 6-inch-long
(10-15 cm) pinnately compound leaves containing 5 to 13 leaflets [28].
Violet-colored flowers occur in showy, 2- to 4.75-inch-long (5-12 cm)
terminal racemes [28].  The fruit is an oblong, brown, pubescent, 1- to
5-inch-long (2.5-12.5 cm), hard and woody, indehiscent pod that is
somewhat constricted between the seeds [28].


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Undisturbed State:  Phanerophyte (microphanerophyte)
   Burned or Clipped State:  Hemicryptophyte


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Regeneration of mescalbean sophora is primarily sexual.  Plants produce
abundant seed; each seed pod contains one to eight seeds.  The
bright-orange to scarlet-red seeds are 0.5 inch (1.25 cm) long, globose
to oblong, and hard and bony [7,28].  Fresh seeds reportedly germinate
readily, requiring no scarification [21].  However, seeds have a hard
seed coat, and older seeds must have this protective covering scarified
before germination can occur.  Under laboratory conditions, soaking
seeds for 15 minutes in concentrated sulfuric acid resulted in 72
percent germination [7].  Seeds germinate over a wide range of
temperatures.  The highest germination was at constant temperatures of
68, 77, and 86 degrees F (20, 25, 30 C) and at alternating temperatures
of 59 and 77 degrees F (15-25 C) and 68 and 86 degrees F (20-30 C) [7].
In the field, seedlings and freshly germinated seed were observed in
late October after heavy rainfall [7].

Most plants sprout after damage to the aboveground portion of the plant,
such as by fire [1].


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Mescalbean sophora occurs in most mountain systems of western Texas and
southern New Mexico [19].  Here it is usually found in limestone soils
and occurs as scattered plants in canyons, on slopes, and along cliffs
[3,19].  In the Del Norte Mountains of western Texas, mescalbean sophora
is found on canyon slopes with paper shell pinyon (Pinyon remota),
smooth sotol (Dasylirion leiophyllum), evergreen sumac (Rhus virens),
mexican buckeye (Ungnadia speciosa), brickellias (Brickellia spp.), and
agarito (Mahonia trifoliolata) [3].  In the Del Norte Mountains, it is
also found in riparian deciduous woodlands with little walnut (Juglans
microcarpa), desert willow (Chilopsis linearis), western honey mesquite
(Prosopis glandulosa var. torreyana), and splitleaf brickellia
(Brickellia laciniata) [3].

Mescalbean sophora occurs as scattered individuals in brushy vegetation
across the Edwards Plateau and Rio Grande Plains of Texas [19].  In
these regions it is also common in riparian deciduous forests dominated
by Texas persimmon (Diospyros texana), American sycamore (Platanus
occidentalis), netleaf hackberry (Celtis reticulata), live oak (Quercus
virginiana), cedar elm (Ulmus crassifolia), pecan (Carya illinoensis),
and Mexican ash (Fraxinus berlandieriana) [25,29].


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
Mescalbean sophora is considered a "secondary invader" of rangelands
following brush control and burning [7].  



SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
Plants generally flower in March and April [21,28].  The pods mature in
September [28].

FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Sophora secundiflora | Mescalbean Sophora 



FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS : 
Mescalbean sophora sprouts (presumably from the root crown)
following top-kill by fire [1,4].  Research is needed to determine
whether fire will crack the hard seed coat of mescalbean sophora seeds
and promote germination.


POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY : 
   survivor species; on-site surviving root crown or caudex

FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Sophora secundiflora | Mescalbean Sophora 



IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : 
Most fires presumably top-kill mescalbean sophora if sufficient fuels
are available to sustain a hot fire.


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : 
NO-ENTRY


PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : 
Information concerning the response of mescalbean sophora to fire is
scant.  Ahlstrand [1] studied 3- to 7-year-old burns in the Guadalupe
Mountains and reported that mescalbean sophora "reproduced and grew from
vegetative sprouts after burning."  It reportedly becomes abundant after
fire and mechanical brush control on rangelands in central Texas [22].


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : 
NO-ENTRY


FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
NO-ENTRY

References for species: Sophora secundiflora

1. Ahlstrand, Gary M. 1982. Response of Chihuahuan Desert mountain shrub vegetation to burning. Journal of Range Management. 35(1): 62-65. [296]

2. Bernard, Stephen R.; Brown, Kenneth F. 1977. Distribution of mammals, reptiles, and amphibians by BLM physiographic regions and A.W. Kuchler's associations for the eleven western states. Tech. Note 301. Denver, CO: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management. 169 p. [434]

3. Carignan, Jeanette M. 1988. Ecological survey and elevational gradient implications of the flora and vertebrate fauna in the northern Del Norte Mountains, Brewster Co., Tx. Alpine, TX: Sul Ross State University. 181 p. Thesis. [12255]

4. Cline, Paul S.; Ahlstrand, Gary M. 1979. The effect of fire on seed germination of selected shrub species. In: Sosebee, Ronald E.; Wright, Henry A., eds. Research Highlights--1979: Noxious brush and weed control; range and wildlife management. Vol. 10. Lubbock, TX: Texas Tech University: 15. [12313]

5. Crosswhite, Carol D.; Randall, Cay. 1985. Damage to mescal bean (Sophora secundiflora) by a Pyralid moth (Uresiphita reversalis). Desert Plants. 7(1): 32. [12320]

6. Dayton, William A. 1931. Important western browse plants. Misc. Publ. 101. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture. 214 p. [768]

7. Everitt, J. H. 1983. Seed germination characteristics of three woody plant species from south Texas. Journal of Range Management. 36(2): 246-249. [3929]

8. Eyre, F. H., ed. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and Canada. Washington, DC: Society of American Foresters. 148 p. [905]

9. Garrison, George A.; Bjugstad, Ardell J.; Duncan, Don A.; [and others]. 1977. Vegetation and environmental features of forest and range ecosystems. Agric. Handb. 475. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 68 p. [998]

10. Graham, Edward H. 1941. Legumes for erosion control and wildlife. Misc. Publ. 412. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture. 153 p. [10234]

11. Huston, J. E.; Rector, B. S.; Merrill, L. B.; Engdahl, B. S. 1981. Nutritional value of range plants in the Edwards Plateau region of Texas. Report B-1375. College Station, TX: Texas A&M University System, Texas Agricultural Experiment Station. 16 p. [4565]

12. Kartesz, John T.; Kartesz, Rosemarie. 1980. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. Volume II: The biota of North America. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press; in confederation with Anne H. Lindsey and C. Richie Bell, North Carolina Botanical Garden. 500 p. [6954]

13. Kingsbury, John M. 1964. Poisonous plants of the United States and Canada. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc. 626 p. [122]

14. Kuchler, A. W. 1964. Manual to accompany the map of potential vegetation of the conterminous United States. Special Publication No. 36. New York: American Geographical Society. 77 p. [1384]

15. Little, Elbert L., Jr. 1976. Atlas of United States trees. Volume 3. Minor western hardwoods. Misc. Publ. 1314. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 13 p. 290 maps. [10430]

16. Little, Elbert L., Jr. 1979. Checklist of United States trees (native and naturalized). Agric. Handb. 541. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 375 p. [2952]

17. Lyon, L. Jack; Stickney, Peter F. 1976. Early vegetal succession following large northern Rocky Mountain wildfires. In: Proceedings, Tall Timbers fire ecology conference and Intermountain Fire Research Council fire and land management symposium; 1974 October 8-10; Missoula, MT. No. 14. Tallahassee, FL: Tall Timbers Research Station: 355-373. [1496]

18. Parker, Robert, compiler. 1982. Reaction of various plants to 2,4-D, MCPA, 2,4,5-T, silvex and 2,4-DB. [Revised EM 4419]. Pullman, WA: Washington State University, College of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension. 61 p. In cooperation with: U.S. Department of Agriculture. [1817]

19. Powell, A. Michael. 1988. Trees & shrubs of Trans-Pecos Texas including Big Bend and Guadalupe Mountains National Parks. Big Bend National Park, TX: Big Bend Natural History Association. 536 p. [6130]

20. Raunkiaer, C. 1934. The life forms of plants and statistical plant geography. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 632 p. [2843]

21. Chandler, Craig; Cheney, Phillip; Thomas, Philip; [and others]. 1983. Fire in forestry: Vol. II. Forest fire management and oraganization. New York: John Wiley & Sons. 298 p. [12242]

22. Sperry, O. E.; Dollahite, J. W.; Hoffman, G. O.; Camp, B. J. 1964. Texas plants poisonous to livestock. Report B-1028. College Station, TX: Texas A&M University, Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, Texas Agricultural Extension Service. 59 p. [23510]

23. Sullivan, Gerald; Chavez, Pedro I. 1981. Mexican good-luck charm potentially dangerous. Veterinary and Human Toxicology. 23(4): 259-260. [12240]

24. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. 1994. Plants of the U.S.--alphabetical listing. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. 954 p. [23104]

25. Van Auken, O. W.; Ford, A. L.; Allen, J. L. 1981. An ecological comparison of upland deciduous and evergreen forests of central Texas. American Journal of Botany. 68(9): 1249-1256. [10559]

26. Van Auken, O. W.; Ford, A. L.; Stein, A. 1979. A comparison of some woody upland and riparian plant communities of the southern Edwards Plateau. The Southwestern Naturalist. 24(1): 165-180. [10489]

27. Van Dersal, William R. 1938. Native woody plants of the United States, their erosion-control and wildlife values. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture. 362 p. [4240]

28. Vines, Robert A. 1960. Trees, shrubs, and woody vines of the Southwest. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press. 1104 p. [7707]

29. Wood, Carl E.; Wood, Judith K. 1989. Riparian forests of the Leona and Sabinal Rivers. Texas Journal of Science. 41(4): 395-412. [11869]

Related categories for Species: Sophora secundiflora | Mescalbean Sophora