Ceratonia siliqua - Carob

Carob (Ceratonia siliqua) is an evergreen Mediterranean tree grown for its sweet, edible seedpods, used as a chocolate substitute, flour, and livestock fodder. Unlike most legumes, it does not reliably fix nitrogen, since it belongs to the subfamily Caesalpinioideae, where root-nodule symbiosis with rhizobia is rare and has not been confirmed in field-grown trees.¹² It tolerates drought and poor rocky soil, and is long-lived once established.

Inputs

• Hardiness zone 9³
• Hardiness zone 10³
• Hardiness zone 11³

Outputs

• Human food³
• Fodder³

Type

• Tree
• Evergreen

Functions

• Drought-tolerance³
• Attracting bees³
• Wildlife habitat³
• Windbreak³
• Fire resistance⁴⁵

Footnotes

1. Carob, Wikipedia ↩

2. La Malfa, S., Tribulato, E., Gentile, A., Ventura, M., Gioacchini, P., & Tagliavini, M. (2010). 15N natural abundance technique does not reveal the presence of nitrogen from biological fixation in field grown carob (Ceratonia siliqua L.) trees. Acta Horticulturae, 868, 191–196. ↩

3. Ceratonia siliqua | Plants for a Future ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹

4. Non-native, Non-invasive and Fire Resistant Landscaping Plants for Around Homes, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Santa Cruz County, California, 2008 ↩

5. Fuel Modification Plant Selection Guidelines, Los Angeles County Fire Department, listed as Ceratonia siliqua — Carob, Zone B ↩