Acacia baileyana
Bailey Acacia
A popular Acacia prized for its fast growth and profuse, clusters of yellow flowers in late winter and into spring. Best with some afternoon shade in desert regions. Trees are often shortlived. 'Purpurea' is a popular selection, with purplish foliage contrasting with the yellow flowers. Canopy coverage: 707 square feet.
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Acacia berlandieri
Guajillo
Prune young plants carefully if your goal is to develop a small tree form. Leaves are delicate and almost fernlike. Small thorns appear on some trees. Canopy coverage: 113 square feet.
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Acacia constricta
White Thorn Acacia
White Thorn Acacia can be grown as a tree or shrub—often with multiple trunks. Casual growth habit works well in naturalistic landscapes. Canopy coverage: 177 square feet.
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Acacia covenyi
Blue Bush
Use Blue Bush as a small tree or large screen. You'll like the distinctive, bluish gray foliage color and 3-inch, rounded leaves. Best with some protection from the sun in hot summer regions. Bright yellow flowers are fragrant and bloom early in the season. Avoid overwatering, especially in summer. Canopy coverage: 177 square feet.
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Acacia craspedocarpa
Leatherleaf Acacia
The shrubby tree form of Leatherleaf Acacia works well as a dense screen. Leaves are thick with a rounded shape. Bloom is sporadic from spring through summer. Canopy coverage: 50 square feet.
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Acacia cultriformis
Knife Acacia, Knife-leaf Wattle
A sprawling shrub that can be trained to become a small tree, Knife Acacia has distinctive triangular-shaped leaves. Yellow to cream, puffball flowers are profuse in early to midspring. Makes a good barrier or screen. Canopy coverage: 177 square feet.
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Acacia farnesiana
Sweet Acacia
The puffball flowers of Sweet Acacia are highly fragrant. Prune gradually to create a handsome small tree. Canopy coverage: 314 square feet.
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Acacia greggii
Cat-claw Acacia
Cat-claw Acacia is easy to maintain as a shrub form. Requires little water. However, additional irrigation increases growth, which allows pruning to create a small tree. Curved thorns are the reason behind its common name, making it an excellent barrier plant. Canopy coverage: 113 square feet.
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Acacia pendula
Weeping Acacia
Weeping Acacia becomes a tall, vertical tree with age. Its most striking feature is the weeping growth habit with silvery leaves. Flowering is uncommon in arid regions. Canopy coverage: 491 square feet.
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Acacia saligna
Blue Leaf Wattle
This tree is fast-growing, tending even toward aggressive growth. Branches and leaves drape gracefully toward the ground. Flowers are profuse yellow puffballs. Canopy coverage: 314 square feet.
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Acacia schaffneri
Twisted Acacia
Twisted Acacia is an interesting small tree with distinctive branching pattern. Small thorns along stems make it a suitable barrier plant. Canopy coverage: 491 square feet.
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Acacia stenophylla
Shoestring Acacia
The upright and airy form of Shoestring Acacia is attractive when planted as a small grove. Makes an effective screen. Canopy coverage: 314 square feet.
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Acacia willardiana
Palo Blanco
The airy, vertical form of this tree makes it a prime accent in the landscape. It may be semievergreen, depending on how low temperatures drop in your region. White peeling bark similar to a Birch tree adds interest. Canopy coverage: 79 square feet.
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Acer negundo
Box Elder
This is a Maple for tough conditions of drought and heat. Identify by its compound leaves, unlike other Maples. Box Elder has its faults. It has a wide-spreading form but branches tend to break easily with strong winds. Reseeds and suckers readily. Look for 'Sensation', a male selection that does not reseed, does not sucker and has better branching structure. It has red fall color. Canopy coverage: 1,257 square feet.
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Aesculus californica
California Buckeye
This California native appears almost subtropical in appearance with large palmate leaves. Use as a dense shrub or small tree. Normal height and width is 20 to 25 feet, but trees sometimes get much larger. Plumes of showy fragrant flowers adorn plants in spring. Note that the large, ornamental plant seeds are reported to be poisonous; pollen is poisonous to bees. Canopy coverage: 491 square feet.
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Albizia julibrissin
Silk Tree
Multiple trunk forms are common for Silk Tree. Flowers are dramatic, almost subtropical in nature. Flower litter can be messy. Canopy coverage: 1,257 square feet.
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Amelanchier alnifolia
Saskatoon, Western Serviceberry
Grown as a upright, multistemmed shrub or small tree, Saskatoon is a desirable plant, with fragrant flowers, edible berries and brilliant, yellow and red fall color. Improved selections are available that are preferred if the primary goal is to harvest the edible berries. 'Regent' is a compact selection, reaching just 6 feet high when mature. Canopy coverage: 177 square feet.
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Arbutus 'Marina'
Marina Strawberry Tree
This hybrid Arbutus does best with some sun protection in hot desert and inland areas. Becomes an attractive tree with age, with interesting form and brown bark that peels to reveal new, smooth, red bark beneath. Edible, ball-shaped fruit follow the pink flowers in late winter. Fruit can be messy on pavement. Canopy coverage: 962 square feet.
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Arbutus unedo
Strawberry Tree
An adaptable tree or shrub, known to do well in lawns. Best with some sun protection (afternoon shade) in hot desert and inland areas. Becomes an attractive tree with age, with interesting form and rugged brown bark. Edible, ball-shaped fruit follow flowers in late winter. They can be messy on pavement. Smaller selections include 'Elfin King' and 'Compacta'. Canopy coverage: 707 square feet.
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Bauhinia lunarioides
White Orchid Tree
This Bauhinia is more cold hardy than its cousins and is considered to be semievergreen. It is small in stature, which allows its use as a patio tree or flowering shrub tucked into a confined space. Canopy coverage: 28 square feet.
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Bauhinia variegata
Purple Orchid Tree
This subtropical tree is partially deciduous, dropping leaves during the initial part of the bloom season. Orchidlike flowers are smaller than those of Hong Kong Orchid Tree, but showy and profuse. Long brown seed pods to 1 foot long follow flowers. Canopy coverage: 707 square feet.
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