''Dermatophyllum'' is a genus of three or four species of shrubs and small

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

s in the subfamily

Faboideae The Faboideae are a subfamily of the flowering plant family Fabaceae or Leguminosae. An acceptable alternative name for the subfamily is Papilionoideae, or Papilionaceae when this group of plants is treated as a family. This subfamily is widely ...

of the pea family, Fabaceae. The genus is native to southwestern North America from western

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...

and

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, and south through Chihuahua, Coahuila, and Nuevo León in northern

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. Members of the genus are commonly known as mescalbean, mescal bean, or ''frijolito''. One of the common names of '' Dermatophyllum secundiflorum'' is Texas mountain laurel, although the name mountain laurel also refers to the very dissimilar and unrelated genus ''

Kalmia ''Kalmia'' is a genus of about ten species of evergreen shrubs from 0.2–5 m tall, in the family Ericaceae. They are native to North America (mainly in the eastern half of the continent) and Cuba. They grow in acidic soils, with different spe ...

'' (family

Ericaceae The Ericaceae are a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the heath or heather family, found most commonly in acidic and infertile growing conditions. The family is large, with c.4250 known species spread across 124 genera, making it th ...

) and the name laurel refers generally to plants in the unrelated order Laurales. Although still commonly treated in the genus ''

Sophora ''Sophora'' is a genus of about 45 species of small trees and shrubs in the pea family Fabaceae. The species have a pantropical distribution. The generic name is derived from ''sophera'', an Arabic name for a pea-flowered tree. The genus formerl ...

'', recent genetic evidence has shown that the mescalbeans are only distantly related to the other species of ''Sophora''.

Species

''Dermatophyllum'' comprises the following species: * '' Dermatophyllum arizonicum'' ( S.Watson) Vincent—Arizona mescalbean (

, Chihuahua) ** subsp. ''arizonicum'' (S.Watson) Vincent ** subsp. ''formosum'' (Kearney & Peebles) Vincent (Arizona) * '' Dermatophyllum gypsophilum'' (B.L. Turner & A.M. Powell) Vincent—Guadalupe mescalbean (southern

, western

, Coahuila) * '' Dermatophyllum guadalupense'' (B.L. Turner & A.M. Powell) B.L.Turner * '' Dermatophyllum juanhintonianum'' (B.L. Turner) B.L. Turner * '' Dermatophyllum secundiflorum'' ( Ortega) Gandhi & Reveal—Texas mescalbean (Texas, New Mexico, Coahuila, Nuevo León) * '' Dermatophyllum purpusii'' (Brandegee) Vincent

Description

''Dermatophyllum'' spp. grow to tall, with a trunk up to in diameter, often growing in dense

thicket A thicket is a very dense stand of trees or tall shrubs, often dominated by only one or a few species, to the exclusion of all others. They may be formed by species that shed large numbers of highly viable seeds that are able to germinate in t ...

s that grow from

basal shoot Basal shoots, root sprouts, adventitious shoots, and suckers are words for various kinds of shoots that grow from adventitious buds on the base of a tree or shrub, or from adventitious buds on its roots. Shoots that grow from buds on the base ...

s. The leaves are

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, whic ...

, leathery, long,

pinnate Pinnation (also called pennation) is the arrangement of feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common axis. Pinnation occurs in biological morphology, in crystals, such as some forms of ice or metal crystals, and in ...

with 5-11 oval leaflets, long and broad. The

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s, produced in spring, are fragrant, purple, typical pea-flower in shape, borne in erect or spreading racemes long. The

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

is a hard, woody

seedpod This page provides a glossary of plant morphology. Botanists and other biologists who study plant morphology use a number of different terms to classify and identify plant organs and parts that can be observed using no more than a handheld magnify ...

long, containing one to six oval, bright red

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...

s long and in diameter. All parts of the mescalbeans are very poisonous, containing the

alkaloid Alkaloids are a class of basic, naturally occurring organic compounds that contain at least one nitrogen atom. This group also includes some related compounds with neutral and even weakly acidic properties. Some synthetic compounds of similar ...

cytisine (''not'' mescaline, as suggested by the name). Nevertheless, evidence exists of the seeds of the plant having been used in a ritualistic context as a

hallucinogen Hallucinogens are a large, diverse class of psychoactive drugs that can produce altered states of consciousness characterized by major alterations in thought, mood, and perception as well as other changes. Most hallucinogens can be categorize ...

(or more accurately; an ordeal poison) by some Native American peoples. The symptoms of cytisine poisoning are very unpleasant. This has led to speculation that the peyote cult may have developed as a relatively safe substitute for the potentially toxic mescalbean, given the close parallels in performance and divination between the two (including leaders of

Plains Indian Plains Indians or Indigenous peoples of the Great Plains and Canadian Prairies are the Native American tribes and First Nation band governments who have historically lived on the Interior Plains (the Great Plains and Canadian Prairies) of ...

peyote rituals wearing a necklace of mescalbeans).

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q56628324, from2=Q2709624 Faboideae Fabaceae genera