Texas Mountain Laurel

Sophora secundiflora

Hills guide picknative · Hill Countrysold locallytoxic

Texas Mountain Laurel is a small tree native to the Texas Hill Country that grows 12–20 ft tall and 8–12 ft wide. It wants full sun or part shade and very low water, and handles caliche and clay soil. Blooms purple in early spring. Evergreen — it holds its leaves through winter. Deer rarely browse it. Good for butterflies.

Toxic — people, pets. Seeds contain cytisine. The classic one-seed-can-kill-a-child case. The hard red seeds are attractive to children.

Will it grow in your yard?

Enter your ZIP. The finder checks Texas Mountain Laurel against your microclimate, then ranks it against your sun, your watering and deer pressure.

From our guide

Village of the Hills

Evergreen shrub or small tree with glossy leaves and purple flower clusters in early spring that smell strongly of grape soda.

Why it works here

Evergreen structure on caliche with essentially no water. One of the earliest nectar sources of the year.

Watch out

Seeds are toxic if chewed and swallowed — worth knowing with small children. Very slow. Hates wet feet.

The facts

9 sources

Type: Small tree
Sun: Full sun to part shade (3+ hrs)
Water: Very low
Height: 12–20 ft
Spread: 8–12 ft
Bloom: Early Spring · purple
Foliage: Evergreen
Soil: Takes caliche and clay · recorded on calcareous, caliche, clay, dry, limestone, rocky, sand, well drained
Deer: High — deer rarely browse it. Toxic alkaloids; not browsed
Wildlife: Supports butterflies

Size, sun, water and foliage from the Village of the Hills guide; the rest resolved across sources.

Where it grows

Recorded in these EPA Level IV ecoregions in the Austin and Hill Country launch area:

Balcones CanyonlandsLlano UpliftEdwards Plateau Woodland

Can you buy it?

Sold at local nurseries. Confirmed in stock at a Central Texas grower in these sizes:

2.5–36 inch pots1, 5, 10, 15, 30, 65 gallon

From the growers we read so far — a short list, not the whole trade. Call ahead.

also grows from seed It starts readily from seed, so a packet from a native-seed supplier, or seed collected with permission, is often the easiest way to get a plant no nursery pots.