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Ebenopsis ebano |
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| | The zigzag pattern nicely contrasting light bark with dark leaves |
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| | Early March: it's alive! |
| Synonym(s) |
Pithecellobium flexicaule |
| Common name |
Texas ebony |
| Family |
fabaceae |
| Life cycle |
tree (Z9-10)   |
| Flowers |
cream (spring-fall) |
| Size |
25' |
| Light |
sun |
| Cultural notes |
well-drained soil |
Densely crowned deciduous tree, native to arid areas of southern Texas. The small leaflets are dark green, part of twice-pinnate leaves. Branches are spiny, and zig-zag at their nodes. Creamy white blooms appear in late spring through early fall, and are followed by brown seed pods. Reports of cold hardiness vary; most accounts say it shouldn't be hardy in our zone 8b garden, but I drew my inspiration to plant this tree from a nice specimen in Houston's Mercer Botanical Garden, which should have a similar climate to ours. So let's hope we can keep ours alive – so far so good: it lost its leaves after the severe freeze of January 2018, but new growth sprouted by early March. The species grows slowly, so in any case we'll have to wait a long time for it to be even a small shade tree. For most of 2018, our treelet just kind of sat there – not obviously unhappy, but not growing either. Finally in late summer, it put out a flush of fresh green leaves – still not reaching for the sky too much, but hopefully a sign that it has made peace with its new surroundings and is ready for some more action next year.
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| | Mid-September 2018 – a flush of new growth |
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| | No leaf drop in the milder winter of 2019, but leaves were blotched with burgundy in March. I suspect they'll drop to make room for new green ones. |
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| | Early September 2019 – densely covered in new leaves |
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| | A growth spurt finally arrived in 2020, requiring some pruning to avoid injury to passers-by from the sharp spines. |
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| | Nearly killed in megafreeze of February 2021 – just a tiny sprig returning near the base in early April... |
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| | ...turning into bushy growth by early May. But will it ever be a tree again? |
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| | Growing fairly tall now, four years after it was last freeze-killed to the ground |
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In our garden, this plant grows in the following area: back fence border About my plant portraits
PlantLinks to other web pages about Ebenopsis ebano
Visitors to this page have left the following comments| David M Sturdivant | Feb 06, 2025 | Nice pics and history of my favorite tree!
I'm growing several here in east Texas, in pots, training them to become bonsai trees.
Best of luck and thanks for this kool post!
~TexasDave~
Thanks for the comment, Dave. Mine was knocked back yet again by a winter freeze, returning only from the base – the third or fourth time this has happened since I introduced it to our garden. So I've just about given up hope on ever seeing a mature specimen. Your bonsai efforts stand a much better chance of success! |
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Last modified:
December 24, 2024
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