VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Cercidium floridum | Blue Paloverde 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
The wood of blue paloverde is light to heavy, soft, and close-grained
[30,70].  Blue paloverde is used for fuel [49].


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Blue paloverde fruits, twigs, and leaves are used as livestock forage
thoughout the year [60].  Mule deer, bighorn sheep, and burros browse
its twigs and leaves [15,80].  Small mammals consume blue paloverde
seeds during summer and fall [15].

In southern Arizona, blue paloverde taller than 6.7 feet (2 m) is used
for nesting [65].  With a large canopy, blue paloverde offers many sites
for bird perching, nesting, and foraging.  The blue paloverde-ironwood
vegetation type supports a high density and diversity of breeding birds
[7,16,20].  In south central Arizona, 19 species of breeding birds were
present in mesquite (Prosopis spp.) bosques where blue paloverde
occurred [56].

Blue paloverde leaves and stems contain cyanogenic glycosides,
alkaloids, and cinnamic phenolic acid which may deter herbivory [77].


PALATABILITY : 
NO-ENTRY


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
Blue paloverde aboveground biomass is about 22 percent nitrogen, 50 to
80 percent dry matter, and 17 percent crude protein [4,63,64,80].

Equations are available to predict amounts of dry matter, nitrogen, and
carbon based on blue paloverde height and crown measurements [4].



COVER VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
Blue paloverde has successfully established by artificial seeding
following highway construction [9].

Blue paloverde naturally established following removal of invasive
populations of saltcedar (Tamarix ramosissima) [2].  Soil preparation,
planting, and irrigation methods for blue paloverde are discussed in the
literature [3,71].


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
Blue paloverde fruits have been used by Native Americans for food [5].
The Pima and Papago in Arizona cooked young blue paloverde fruits and
seeds and ground the seeds for porridge [15].

The Pima carved blue paloverde into large serving spoons [46].



MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Blue paloverde and other species were tested for biomass production for
use in fuelwood and erosion control programs.  Blue paloverde and
ironwood ranked lowest of the tested species for biomass production [18].

Young blue paloverde can tolerate moderate grazing.  In greenhouse
tests, blue paloverde sprouted following top removal.  At a transplant
site near Travertine Point, California, severely gnawed blue paloverde
transplants survived only when irrigated [3].

Seed predation by invertebrates such as bruchid beetles can lead to
logarithmic increases in seed mortality of blue paloverde [28]. 

Blue paloverde has decreased in some areas of Arizona partly due to the
erosion of broad flat washes into narrow, steep-sided channels [67].  In
the microphyll woodlands of the desert washes, disturbance by offroad
vehicles decreases density and biomass of perennial plants such as blue
paloverde [7].

Natural recovery following disturbance is slow in wash woodlands in
which blue paloverde occurs.  Optimal conditions for reestablishment
occur infrequently.  It may take up to 60 years for these woodlands to
reach predisturbance levels of biomass, and 180 years to reach
predisturbance levels of species diversity [71].  

In southeastern Califonia, blue paloverde is a nurse plant for saguaro
(Carnegiea gigantea) [13].  Saguaro eventually outlive or contribute to
the death of paloverde species [35].

Blue paloverde does not have mycorrhizal nodules [72].  The presence of
other mycorrhizal associations was not discussed.

Related categories for Species: Cercidium floridum | Blue Paloverde