Palo verde

"Spanish for green wood or stick.
The trees can photosynthesize through their green bark, an important adaptation for a tree that drops its leaves during the warm season and in response to fall cooling.
The trees can photosynthesize through their green bark, an important adaptation for a tree that drops its leaves during the warm season and in response to fall cooling. Palo verdes also drop stems and branches to combat drought.

Palo verdes serve as nurse plants for saguaro cacti by providing a canopy – in effect, a microhabitat – which offers warmth in winter and shade in summer. The slower-growing, longer-lived cactus will eventually replace its one-time protector.

Bighorn sheep, mule deer, feral burros and jackrabbits as well as other small mammals browse palo verdes."