Texas Kidneywood

My Texas Kidneywood (Eysenhardtia texana) shrub/ tree is blooming. The pollinators just love the blooms of these sweet fragrant native trees, especially the bees. Accordingly, other common names for this small tree/shrub include Bee Brush, Vara Dulce, and Palo Dulce.

Texas Kidneywood is an open airy shrub which can develop several trunks. It blooms intermittently from April to October after a rain, but its main blooming time is in late summer around August and September. It can grow 10 feet tall and as wide. It likes the rocky alkaline soil found in hill country. It must have good drainage.

The deer like it too, so it needs to be planted in a sunny spot (although it will survive in partial shade) where the deer do not roam. Texas Kidneywood has lacey compound leaves that give off a citrusy aroma when crushed. Each year this perennial loses its leaves in the winter and may also defoliate in extreme drought conditions. Many other members of the acacia family have thorns, but not the Texas Kidneywood. The long narrow seed pods are characteristic of other legumes.

Kidneywood has been used by people for centuries. When the wood is soaked in water it produces a yellow/orange dye. The dye is said to be fluorescent when placed against a black background. It was this strange property that led people to believe it had magical properties.

They used the Kidneywood to treat kidney and bladder disorders, hence its name.

Once this native is established you never need to water it and of course no chemicals or fertilizers are ever required. This is the beauty of all plants native to our area.

Written by Jackie Mattice, Hays County Master Naturalist