The pods of trees from tropical deciduous forest are relevant in the dry season due to the ir high availability. Whole p ods from seven plant species Acacia pennatula (Schltdl. & Cham.) Benth., Caesalpinia gaumeri (Britton & Rose) Greenm., Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit, Lysiloma latisiliquum (L.) Benth., Mimosa bahamensis Benth., Piscidia piscipula (L.) Sarg. and Senegalia gaumeri (SF Blake) Britton & Rose which are reported as consumed by small ruminants were evaluated. T he ir nutritional value, phenolic compounds, in vitro dry matter (IVDMD) and organic matter digestibi lity (IVOMD) and metabolizable energy (ME) with and without the inclusion of polyethylene glycol (PEG) were evaluated. The pods from P. piscipula showed the highest crude protein content. The pods of L. leucocephala, C. gaumeri, and A. pennatula resulted w ith the highest IVDMD (46.3 and 44.5%), IVOMD (44.8 and 45.4%) and ME (6.8 and 6.7 MJ)(P< 0.05). The phenolic compounds were not detected in C. gaumeri, L. latisiliquum and S. gaumeri pods. The IVDMD, IVOMD and ME on pods of L latisiliquum and P. piscipula (P< 0.05) was lower when PEG was added. Pods from A. pennatula, C. gaumeri and L. leucocephala showed acceptable nutritional value for their use as supplement for ruminants.