[Illustration: Prosopis pubescens
Prosopis juliflora]
Common names: MESQUITE, HONEY MESQUITE
Arizona, California and Texas deserts: (_Prosopis juliflora_). Yellow.
April-June.
Pea family. Size: Tree 15 to 25, rarely 30 feet high.
Mesquite (mess-KEET) is one of the commonest and most widespread of
desert trees, often growing in extensive thickets. It occurs at
elevations below 5,000 feet, usually along streams, desert washes, or in
locations where the water table is relatively high, from Kansas to
California and south into Mexico. Roots are reported to penetrate to a
depth of 60 feet with more wood below ground than above. In some parts
of the desert, blowing sand settles around Mesquite clumps forming
hummocks through which rodents tunnel.
The numerous branches are armed with sturdy, straight thorns. In the
spring when covered with bright green leaves and laden with catkin-like
clusters of greenish-yellow flowers, Mesquite is a particularly handsome
shrub or tree. Blossoms are fragrant and attract myriads of insects,
including Honeybees.
During pioneer days, Mesquite wood was of the utmost importance to
settlers as fuel, and was also used extensively in building corrals and
in making furniture and utensils. With the exception of Ironwood,
Mesquite is the best firewood to be found in the desert, giving off a
characteristic aroma and forming a long-lived bed of coals.
Fruits of the Mesquite, which resemble string beans, ripen in autumn and
are eaten by domestic livestock and other animals. They are rich in
sugar and still form a staple food among natives. Indians made wide use
of Mesquite, the fruits often carrying them over periods when their
crops failed. _Pinole_, a meal made by grinding the long, sweet pods,
was served in many ways. When fermented, it formed a favorite
intoxicating drink of the Pimas. The gum, which exudes through the bark,
was eaten as candy, and was used as a pottery-mending cement, and as a
black dye.