Odds are, if you haven’t seen the Texas mountain laurel on campus, you’ve at least smelled it. This small tree’s purple, drooping clusters of flowers are not only showy, but very fragrant! The scent is reminiscent of grape candy. Also admired for its dark, compound, evergreen foliage, it is a popular ornamental. Since it is in the pea family, Fabaceae, it forms somewhat woody pods with bright red poisonous seeds that contain cytisine, a chemical relative of nicotine. Once used by the Native Americans as a hallucinogen, this chemical is now used medicinally to help people quit smoking; however, here on campus, these arid adapted trees are used just for their aesthetics. Try to catch a whiff of this spunky tree when it’s in bloom!
