Sophora secundiflora, Texas mountain laurel

By Summer Pritchett

Alternate common names: Texas mescal bean, frigolito, and frijlillo.

Sophora secundiflora overall habit, in full bloom.

https://dcmga.com/north-texas-gardening/trees/texas-mountain-laurel/

Sophora secundiflora is a beautiful perennial shrub or tree with full, dark green foliage. The flowers of Texas mountain laurel can be bluish lavender, dark violet, light purple, bright purple, and even white. The floral parts of Sophora secundiflora smell beautiful, very floral, and usually significantly strong. Some say that the flowers smell like grape soda or artificial grape products. In addition, this plant has beautiful fruit, which consists of semi-woody pods that have very bright red seeds. The primary feature that attracts the eye of both humans and pollinators are the beautiful flowers. This wonderful plant is a great way to add beautiful fragrance and eye-catching features into a landscape. This plant is great for attracting insect pollinators, which is a very important and popular feature.

Sophora secundiflora is in the Fabaceae family (Pea Family), which is the third-largest family in the angiosperms. The Texas mountain laurel is a drought-tolerant native from central Texas, New Mexico, and parts of Mexico. Being native to the United States, Texas mountain laurel has been pleasing the senses of viewers for years. This plant also has a trunk that has multiple stems that twist together and become a strong combined trunk. Texas Mountain Laurel usually grows 15 to 25 feet tall, but they are capable of growing 50 feet tall! Sophora secundiflora is usually used as a small tree or pruned to be more shrub-like. A biological characteristic that is interesting to note about this awesome plant is that the Texas mountain laurel propagates well not only from seeds but cuttings as well! Since Texas mountain laurel is drought-tolerant, it does not require much water and thrives well in full sun, though it does tolerate part shade as well. In addition, this plant is very hardy and is both cold and heat tolerant! Sophora secundiflora prefers dry, rocky, well-drained soils.

One can identify Sophora secundiflora by looking at their flowers, as above mentioned, and many other characteristics. Sophora secundiflora has an alternate leaf arrangement, and the leaves are odd pinnately compound. The flowers are bisexual, and the inflorescence is a raceme. The leaves are shiny and leathery, and the fruit, as mentioned above, are red beans enclosed in gray seed pods. The trunk is considered a multi-trunk, as mentioned above, and has a light-brown color coloring of the trunk.

Flowers of Texas mountain laurel

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Sophora secundiflora grows best in hardiness zones 7 through 11. This plant is useful horticulturally for a number of reasons which include: aesthetics, the fact that they thrive in poor soils, they don’t require much water, and are low maintenance. As far as industry value, they would sell well at a nursery because of their beauty and they are most often yearned for in a landscape setting. Texas mountain laurel has varying white cultivars that have beautiful, white flowers. These flowers smell just as sweet as the purple flowers, and this cultivar can be used in the landscape the same as the purple variety, or it can vary!

Texas mountain laurel stands out on its own and often looks great when it is used solo. This plant can be used against a trellis or fence line to enact a climbing habit, or it can be used without such, and it will grow strong full by itself. If one wanted to pair Texas mountain laurel with others in a landscape, a blend of other fragrant trees and shrubs may bring a strong attraction to the viewer. Perhaps the implementation of more than one Texas mountain laurel, all in a row by a sidewalk, displaying different varieties and colors, would be a great way to use this plant in a landscape. In addition, Texas mountain laurel would be a great centerpiece to a landscape and would look beautiful paired with white annuals planted around it.

Sophora secundiflora leaves

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Considering all of the beauty and attractiveness Texas mountain laurel provides, this plant is a great landscape plant and has high market value!

Plant Database. (n.d.). Retrieved September 13, 2020, from https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=sose3 Parkandco. (2018, January 26). Texas Mountain Laurel (Sophora Secundiflora) -

Plant Of The Month. Retrieved September 13, 2020, from https://wateruseitwisely.com/plant-month-texas-mountain-laurel-sophora-secundiflora/

Texas Mountain Laurel. (2019, July 26). Retrieved September 14, 2020, from https://dcmga.com/north-texas-gardening/trees/texas-mountain-laurel/

Dermatophyllum secundiflorum (Texas Mountain Laurel). (n.d.). Retrieved September 14, 2020, from https://ecoblossom.com/products/texas-mountain-laurel-sophora-secundiflora

Dermatophyllum secundiflorum (Texas Mountain Laurel). (n.d.). Retrieved September 14, 2020, from https://ecoblossom.com/products/texas-mountain-laurel-sophora-secundiflora

Mountain Laurel. (n.d.). Retrieved September 14, 2020, from http://www.nativesoftexas.com/mlaurel.html Admin, A. (2019, February 01).

Texas Mountain Laurel- February Plant of the Month. Retrieved September 14, 2020, from http://www.thegardencenter.com/texas-mountain-laurel-february-plant-of-the-month