Shade - Carob

The Carob Tree has a round and spreading canopy, rugged, stiff and coarsely branched, leathery and is aromatic.  Carob tree flowers yellowish green maturing to red in color.  They appear in late fall and early winter on short inner spur branches of the tree.  Often flowers exude a powerful musty fragrance.  Carob tree fruit are a flattened, twisting, and elongated pod to several inches long, green when immature but then maturing to a dark brown color. The pulp between the seeds inside mature fruit pods is edible, tasting like chocolate.  This tree thrives in the heat of the lower desert.  Though drought tolerant, carob tree must have at least some deep, but infrequent irrigations during summer.  Commercial carob chocolate is derived from the seed pods.

Scientific name: Ceratonia siliqua