Paleo Foraging

Parkinsonia aculeata L.

Paloverde, Jerusalem thorn, Barbados flowerfence, horsebean, retama, bagote, lluvia de oro

Seri: snapxöl (Felger and Moser 1985:332)

Location in Texas: W, S, SE, & C TX; common in Travis Co.

Form: small tree, up to 40 ft. tall.

Flowers: Apr-Aug (yellow, orange).

Food

Beans – eaten by the Papago (Castetter and Underhill 1935:24). The bean pods were flailed to release the beans, which were then winnowed and parched (Castetter and Underhill 1935:25).

Gathering Season – August (Castetter and Underhill 1935:24).

Notes – bean pods or beans of two other Parkinsonia spp. were eaten by the Seri, but those of P. aculeata were not known as Seri food. P. aculeata was only cultivated or semi-naturalized in the Seri territory (Felger and Moser 1985:332), so it may still be edible, but not having enough abundance, exposure, or history with the Seri to be used the same as the other two species. The flowers of the other Parkinsonia spp. were also eaten fresh or boiled by the Seri (Felger and Moser 1985:332).

Medicine

Roots – early Texans by the Nueces River used a decoction of the root to treat gonorrhea (Ohlendorf et al. 1980:568).

Experimentation

I’ve tried eating the fresh flowers of this species, but they are rather bitter and insubstantial. They are produced in profusion, but given their small mass and unpalatability, they do not seem a worthwhile food source.

I have no evidence of any historic use of the green beans of this species (P. aculeata) as food (only those of blue and yellow paloverde). However, I have eaten many of them with no ill effects. I like to boil them for about 10 minutes to soften them up, salt the whole pods, and eat them out of the pod like edamame.