Flat Bobby Up A Tree

Flat Bobby Up A Tree, originally uploaded by Foxicat.

Flat Bobby saw a strange-looking tree on the way back to the car and just had to climb it.

This is a Palo Verde tree; Palo Verde means ‘green stick’ in Spanish. The green stems and bark of Palo Verde make it easy to identify but more importantly allow it to persist in the desert environment. Palo Verde trees are drought deciduous and thus shed their leaves during extended dry spells. The Palo Verde has the characteristic of performing photosynthesis in its bark (hence the green color), and this is what allows it to survive after it has shaved its leaves in hotter periods. The Palo Verde is the state tree of Arizona.