Native Plant Database

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Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial
Habit: Shrub , Tree
Leaf Retention: Evergreen
Leaf Arrangement: Alternate
Leaf Complexity: Pinnate
Size Class: 12-36 ft.
Leaf Pubescence: Glabrous
Leaf Margin: Entire
Leaf Texture: Leathery
Breeding System: Monoecious
Inflorescence: Raceme
Fruit Type: Legume
Size Notes: 10-20 feet
Leaf Color: Green
Flower Size: racemes 5-15 cm long, individual flowers 1-2 cm long
Fruit Length: 2-12 cm
Fruit Color: Seedpods gray with a felt-like surface texture, aging to dark brown. Seeds glossy red.

Bloom Information

Bloom Color: Blue , Purple
Bloom Time: Feb , Mar
Bloom Notes: Bloom fragrance often compared to artificial grape products like grape Kool-Aid, grape bubble gum, grape soft drinks, etc. A pleasant but almost overpoweringly strong fragrance that can waft a considerable distance from the plant.

Distribution

USA: NM , TX
Native Distribution: S. & c. TX, w. to mts. of s. NM and s. to San Luis Potosi in Mexico
Native Habitat: Brushy slopes; open plains. Common in limestone soils. Well-drained sand, loam, clay, caliche, limestone.
USDA Native Status: L48(N)

Growing Conditions

Water Use: Low , Medium
Light Requirement: Sun , Part Shade
Soil Moisture: Moist , Dry
Soil pH: Alkaline (pH>7.2)
CaCO3 Tolerance: High
Drought Tolerance: High
Cold Tolerant: yes
Heat Tolerant: yes
Soil Description: Dry, rocky, well-drained, preferably calcareous soils. Sandy, Sandy Loam, Medium Loam, Clay Loam, Clay
Conditions Comments: Needs good drainage.
Texas comments: Its natural range extends no farther north than McLennan County and it isnt reliably winter-hardy north of there.

Benefit

Use Ornamental: This species is often cultivated in warm regions for the shiny, evergreen foliage and large showy flowers. S. secundiflora is readily available as a small to medium sized propagated plant.
Use Wildlife: Blooms attract insect pollinators.
Use Medicinal: Crushed beans boiled in water, strained & liquid poured in aching ears. (Weiner)
Use Other: Used by Native Americans for hallucinogenic drug. (Tull) Native Americans made necklaces as well as a narcotic powder from the seeds.
Warning: The brilliant red seeds contain the highly poisonous alkaloid cytosine (or sophorine) - this substance is related to nicotine and is widely cited as a narcotic and hallucinogen.
Conspicuous Flowers: yes
Fragrant Flowers: yes
Interesting Foliage: yes
Attracts: Butterflies
Deer Resistant: Highly

Propagation

Description: Sow scarified seed after the soil has warmed in spring or fresh seed still swollen in pod in fall. Lightly cover the seed in a pot large enough to allow good root development the first year. A light dusting with a general fungicide is a good precaution to prevent a fungal infection. Mountain laurel seedlings grow slowly the first two years. Cuttings from juvenile trees may root. Since S. secundiflora is a slow growing plant, most specimen sized shrubs are made commercially available by digging them from the wild, and then balling and burlapping. It is difficult for S. secundiflora to survive this kind of transplant because it has a sparse root system with a deep taproot. Because it is impossible to dig up the entire root, the plant often goes into shock and dies.
Seed Collection: Fruit maturation occurs mid to late summer, but the fruit will remain on the plant through the winter, finally releasing the seed the next summer. Young fruit are large thick, leathery pods that appear brownish gray because of a layer of silky pubescence, which gives the pods a silvery luster. In their second year, the pods weather to become black and thin walled, and soon fall from the plant and deteriorate, eventually releasing the seed. The seed are usually deep red but can be orangish red to almost maroon. They are also very hard. Collect seeds when the pod begins to dry and the seeds turn red
Seed Treatment: Separate seeds from pod and store in bags or containers in a cool dry place. Soaking the hard pods in warm water will soften them and make seed removal easier. Seeds must be filed or mechanically scarified with a knife.
Commercially Avail: yes
Maintenance: Prune to avoid a dense shrubby appearance.

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PlantWise: Native Alternatives to Invasive Plants

Sophora secundiflora (Texas mountain-laurel) is a PlantWise native alternative for:

   Tamarix ramosissima (saltcedar)

Mr. Smarty Plants says

Question: How much can I prune a 10 year old mountain laurel to re-shape it and when?
click here to view the full question and answer

Question: Help, my oleanders are dying. I am in need of hedge suggestions- ideal would be quick growing, maybe 8-12 feet at their tallest. I live in Central Texas.
click here to view the full question and answer

Question: Hello! I am checking local plants to plant on a Green Roof, and am researching on which are mostly to survive better. Is it possible to plant the following on a green roof?? (Root depth needed, basically) and would the fact of being on a green roof affect the time of growth?: lupinus texensis, pinus culminicola, cheilanthes alabamensis, vitis cinerea, cordia boissieri, sophora secundiflora, mascagnia macroptera, rubus aff. trivialis, eschscholtzia mexicana. Thank you!
click here to view the full question and answer

Question: I want to incorporate a tree in my landscaping near my house (10-15 feet) for privacy, what are the best trees that don't shed their leaves and have nice flowers and their roots wont destroy my foundation?
click here to view the full question and answer

Question: My +/- 4 yr old Tx. Mountain Laurel, has never bloomed. It is in full sun. I sometimes (minimal) fertilize it. I've pretty much planted it and let it grow. Its been pruned back last year when someone suggested that and it still hasn't helped. What else can I try?
click here to view the full question and answer

From the National Organizations Directory

According to the species list provided by Affiliate Organizations, this plant is on display at the following locations:

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - Austin, TX
Texas Discovery Gardens - Dallas, TX
Sibley Nature Center - Midland, TX
Patsy Glenn Refuge - Wimberley, TX
Native Plant Society of Texas - Fredericksburg, TX

Bibliography

Earth Medicine, Earth Food (1990) Michael A. Weiner
* How to Grow Native Plants of Texas and the Southwest: Revised and Updated Edition (2001) Nokes, J.
Landscaping with Native Plants of Texas and the Southwest (1991) Miller, G. O.
Manual of the Vascular Plants of Texas (1979) Correll, D. S. & M. C. Johnston
* Native Alternatives to Invasive Plants (2006) Burrell, C. C.
* Native Texas Plants: Landscaping Region by Region (2002) Wasowski, S. & A. Wasowski
Shinners & Mahler's Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas (1999) Diggs, G. M.; B. L. Lipscomb; B. O'Kennon; W. F...
Texas Wildflowers: A Field Guide (1984) Loughmiller, C. & L. Loughmiller
Texas Wildscapes: Gardening for Wildlife (1999) Damude, N. & K.C. Bender
Trees of Central Texas (1984) Vines, Robert A.
* Wildflowers of the Texas Hill Country (1989) Enquist, M.

Search More Titles in Bibliography

Recommended Species Lists

Find native plant species by state. Each list contains commercially available species suitable for gardens and planned landscapes. Once you have selected a collection, you can browse the collection or search within it using the combination search.

View Recommended Species page

Additional resources

USDA: Find Sophora secundiflora in USDA Plants
FNA: Find Sophora secundiflora in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Sophora secundiflora