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{{SPlantbox
|genus=Caesalpinia
|species=spinosa
|common_name=Tara
|Min ht metric=cm
|Temp Metric=°F
|jumpin=This is the plant information box - for information on light; water; zones; height; etc. If it is mostly empty you can help grow this page by clicking on the edit tab and filling in the blanks!
|image=Aca1.jpg
|image_width=240
}}
'''''Caesalpinia spinosa''''' (Molina) Kuntze, commonly known as tara, is a small leguminous tree or thorny shrub native to [[Peru]].<ref>All information in article taken from: A. Brack Egg (1999). ''Diccionario Enciclopédico de Plantas Utiles del Perú'' Cusco, Peru: CBC.</ref> ''C. spinosa'' is cultivated as a source of [[tannins]] and also grown as an ornamental plant because of its large colorful flowers and pods.
''C. spinosa'' typically grows 2-5 m tall; its bark is dark gray with scattered prickles and hairy twigs. Leaves are alternate, evergreen, lacking [[stipules]], [[bipinnate]], and lacking petiolar and [[rachis]] glands. Leaves consist of 3-10 pairs of primary [[leaflets]] under 8cm in length, and 5-7 pairs of subsessile elliptic secondary leaflets, each about 1.5-4cm long. [[Inflorescences]] are 15-20cm long terminal [[racemes]], many flowered and covered in tiny hairs. Flowers are yellow to orange with 6-7mm [[petals]]; the lowest [[sepal]] is boat-shaped with many long marginal teeth; [[stamens]] are yellow, irregular in length and barely protruding. The fruit is a flat, oblong [[indehiscent]] [[pod]], about 6-12cm long and 2.5cm wide, containing 4-7 round black seeds, and will redden when mature.<ref>E. McClintock (1996). Caesalpinia. ''In'': J.C. Hickman (ed.) The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California. University of California Press.</ref>
''C. spinosa'' is native to Peru and can be found growing throughout northern, western and southern South America, from Venezuela to Argentina. It has been introduced in drier parts of Asia, the Middle East and Africa and has become naturalized in California.
==Cultivation==
It will grow between 0 and 3,000 meters above sea level, tolerates dry climates and poor soils including those high in sand and rocks. To propagate, seeds must be scarified (pre-treated to break physical dormancy), and young plants should be transplanted to the field at 40cm in height; trees begin to produce after 4-5 years. Mature pods are usually harvested by hand and typically sun dried before processing. If well irrigated, trees can continue to produce for another 80 years, though their highest production is between 15 and 65 years of age. <ref>P. De la Cruz Lapa (2004). An integral and rational utility of tara (''caesalpinia spinosa'' - ''caesalpinia tinctoria'') Rev. Inst. investig. Fac. minas metal cienc. geogr. [online]. jul./dic. 2004, vol.7, no.14 [citado 27 Mayo 2008], p.64-73. <http://www.scielo.org.pe/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1561-08882004000200009&lng=es&nrm=iso>.</ref>
===Propagation===
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===Pests and diseases===
Generally resistant to most pathogens and pests.
==Species==
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==Gallery==
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==References==
*[[Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture]], by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963
<!--- xxxxx *Flora: The Gardener's Bible, by Sean Hogan. Global Book Publishing, 2003. ISBN 0881925381 -->
<!--- xxxxx *American Horticultural Society: A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants, by Christopher Brickell, Judith D. Zuk. 1996. ISBN 0789419432 -->
<!--- xxxxx *Sunset National Garden Book. Sunset Books, Inc., 1997. ISBN 0376038608 -->
==External links==
*{{wplink}}
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