[Illustration: HUISACHE (Pronounced _wee satch_)]
Usually trees or shrubs; leaves mostly twice pinnate; flowers small, in
heads or spikes; sepals 5, calyx tubular; petals 5; stamens 5 or more;
ovary 1-celled; fruit a pod.
Huisache (_Acacia farnesiana_), also known as opoponax, popinac, cassie,
and sweet acacia, is a tropical shrub or small tree native to the
Americas but widely introduced in other countries. The wide-spreading,
graceful trees are almost evergreen, as the leaves are not shed before
new ones appear unless affected by the cold. The slender, sharp spines
occur in pairs at the base of the fern-like leaves, which are dark green
and have 2-5 pairs of divisions with 10-25 pairs of narrow leaflets
about ¼ in. long. The ball-like clusters of deep-yellow fragrant flowers
usually appear before the leaves. The clusters are over half an inch
broad, the many tubular flowers bearing numerous stamens, which give a
feathery appearance to the clusters.
Various products from the trees are in use in many countries—forage from
leaves, honey and perfume from the flowers, tannin from the bark and
fruit, ink from the fruit, and medicinal products from nearly every
part. In Southern Texas it is highly valued as a honey crop, the flowers
blooming from February to April as a rule, but occasionally as early as
December.
[Illustration: MESQUITE]
Mesquite (_Prosopis juliflora glandulosa_) is found on prairies
throughout the state but grows luxuriantly in the southwestern part. In
moister regions it is a graceful tree with lacy yellow-green leaves and
is armed with stout, vicious spines over an inch long, but in the drier
regions it is a spreading shrub with large underground roots which
Mexicans dig up for fuel. Spikes of greenish-white or cream flowers
appear at intervals during the warm months. Long beans, 4-8 in. long,
soon turning pale yellow, mature in a few weeks. The leaves have 2 or 4
widely spreading divisions and commonly bear 6-15 pairs of leaflets
about 1 in. long.
Like the huisache, the mesquite has many uses. The beans are edible, the
pulp containing 25-30 per cent grape sugar. The Indians used the beans
for a food, first grinding them into meal in holes in the rocks. They
form a valuable stock food in Hawaii, where the trees have been
introduced. The wood is hard and takes an excellent polish, but is
chiefly used for fence-posts, railroad ties, fuel, and paving blocks.
The honey produced from the flowers is not so good as huisache honey nor
is so much produced.
[Illustration: PINK SENSITIVE BRIAR]
Pink Sensitive Briar (_Leptoglottis uncinata_) is also called pink
mimosa and shame-vine, the latter name being given because of the leaf’s
habit of closing when touched. The vines sprawl on the ground, growing
out 2-4 ft. They are densely covered with small, recurved prickles. The
leaves are divided as in other mimosas, having 4-8 pairs of divisions
each bearing 8-15 pairs of short leaflets. The small, fragrant pink
flowers are borne in dense heads. The pods are nearly round, densely
covered with spines, and about 1½ in. long. It grows in dry soil from
Virginia to Mexico, blooming in Texas in April and May.
Yellow Sensitive Briar (_Neptunia lutea_) is very much like the pink
briar but has oblong heads of yellow flowers. The pods are smooth and
flat and markedly narrowed at the base. The yellow briar grows in sandy
soil from Oklahoma and Texas to Florida, blooming in June.