Mesquite

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Mesquite

Mesquite (from Nahuatl mizquitl) is a leguminous

Legume

A legume is a plant in the family Fabaceae , or a fruit of these specific plants. A legume fruit is a Fruit#Simple fruit that develops from a simple carpel and usually Dehiscence on two sides....
plant of the Prosopis
Prosopis

Prosopis is a genus of about 45 species of legume Spine trees and shrubs found in subtropical and tropical regions of the Americas, Africa and southwest Asia....
genus found in Northern Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
and the United States

United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
from the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas

Texas

Texas is a U.S. state located in the South Central United States, nicknamed the Lone Star State. Texas is the second largest U.S. state in both area and population, spanning , and with a growing population of 24.3 million residents....
up to southwestern Kansas

Kansas

The State of Kansas is a Midwestern U.S. state in the Central United States of the United States of America, an area often referred to as the United States "Heartland"....
and from southeastern California

California

California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
and southwestern Utah

Utah

The State of Utah is a western United States U.S. state of the United States. It was the List of U.S. states by date of statehood admitted to the United States on January 4, 1896....
to the southern limits of the Sonoran desert

Sonoran Desert

The Sonoran Desert is a North American desert which straddles part of the United States-Mexico border and covers large parts of the U.S. states of Arizona and California and the Mexican states of Sonora and Baja California....
. Mesquite trees are also found in the Chihuahuan Desert

Chihuahuan Desert

The Chihuahuan Desert is a desert that straddles the U.S.-Mexico border. On the United States side it occupies the valleys and basins of central and southern New Mexico, Texas west of the Pecos River and southeastern Arizona; south of the border, it covers the northern half of the Mexico Mexican state of Chihuahua , most of Coahuila, north-e...
of Mexico

Mexico

Deciduous

Deciduous means falling off at maturity or tending to fall off and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe....
trees generally reach a height of 6 to 9 meters (20 to 30 ft), although in most of their range they are shrub

Shrub

A shrub or bush is a horticulture rather than strictly Botany category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 5-6 m tall....
size.

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Description

These deciduous

Deciduous

Shrub

A shrub or bush is a horticulture rather than strictly Botany category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 5-6 m tall....
size. They have narrow, bipinnately compound leaves

Leaf

In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant Organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin, to expose the cells containing chloroplast to light over a broad area, and to allow light to penetrate fully into the tissues....
50 to 75 mm (2 to 3 inches) long, of which the pinnules are sharply pointed. Twigs have a characteristic zig-zag form. Some common species of Mesquite are Honey Mesquite

Honey Mesquite

Honey Mesquite is a medium to small tree with rounded crown and crooked, drooping branches with feathery foliage and straight paired spines on twigs....
(Prosopis glandulosa), Velvet Mesquite

Prosopis velutina

Velvet Mesquite is a small to medium sized perennial tree. It is a legume adapted to a dry, desert climate. Though considered to be a Noxious weeds in states outside its natural range, it plays a vital role in the ecology of the Sonoran Desert....
(Prosopis velutina), Creeping Mesquite (Prosopis strombulifera) and Screwbean Mesquite (Prosopis pubescens).

Mesquite is an extremely hardy, drought

Drought

A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation ....
-tolerant plant because it can draw water

Water

Water is a common chemical substance that is essential for the survival of all known forms of life. In typical usage, water refers only to its liquid form or States of matter, but the substance also has a solid state, ice, and a gaseous state, water vapor or steam....
from the water table

Water table

The water table is the level at which the ground water pressure is equal to atmospheric pressure. It may be conveniently visualized as the 'surface' of the Groundwater in a given vicinity....
through its long taproot

Taproot

A plant's taproot is a somewhat straight tapering root that grows vertically downward. It forms a center from which other roots sprout laterally....
(recorded at up to 190 ft in depth). However, it can also use water in the upper part of the ground, depending upon availability. The tree can easily and rapidly switch from utilizing one water source to the other.

Many people, especially ranchers, consider the tree a nuisance because they believe it competes with rangeland grass

Grass

Grass is the common word that generally describes monocotyledonous green plants. The family Poaceae are the "true grasses" and include most plants grown as grains, for pasture, and for lawns ....
es for moisture. In many parts of Texas, particularly West and Central Texas, the proliferation of mesquite is partly responsible for lowering of groundwater

Groundwater

Groundwater is water located beneath the ground surface in soil porosity spaces and in the fractures of lithologic formations. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated deposit is called an aquifer when it can yield a usable quantity of water....
tables. However, salt cedar has had a greater effect on water consumption, in some cases even displacing existing mesquite.

Eradicating mesquite is difficult because the plant's bud regeneration zone can extend down to 6 inches (150 mm) below ground level. The tree can regenerate from a piece of root

Root

In vascular plants, the root is the organ of a plant body that typically lies below the surface of the soil. This is not always the case, however, since a root can also be aerial root or aerating ....
left in the soil

Soil

Soil is the naturally occurring, unconsolidated or loose covering on the Earth's surface. Soil is composed of particles of broken rock that have been altered by chemical and environmental processes including weathering and erosion....
. Some herbicides are not effective or only partially effective against mesquite. Grubbing techniques for removal, while effective against short-term regrowth, are expensive, costing upwards of $70/acre ($17,000/km²).

New growth of mesquite has needle-sharp thorns

Spine (biology)

In biology, spine or spiny may refer to:*Spine , needle-like structures in plants*Spine , needle-like structures in animalsSpine may also refer to:...
up to 75 mm (3 in) long. The spines are tough enough to penetrate the soft soles of sneakers or similar footwear and can easily puncture tire

Tire

Tires, or tyres , are ring-shaped parts, either pneumatic or solid , that fit around wheels to protect them and enhance their function....
s.

Ecology and Ethnobotany

Bee forage

The tree's flowers provide a nectar source

Nectar source

A nectar source is a flowering plant that produces nectar as part of its reproductive strategy. These plants create nectar, which attract pollinating insects and sometimes other animals such as birds....
for bees to produce mesquite honey (monofloral honey

Monofloral honey

Monofloral honey is a type of honey which has a high value in the marketplace because it has a distinctive flavor or other attribute due to its being predominantly from the nectar of one plant species....
), which has a characteristic flavour.

Environment

Mesquite trees grow quickly and furnish shade and wildlife habitat where other trees will not grow. Being a legume

Legume

Nitrogen fixation

Nitrogen fixation is the process by which nitrogen is taken from its relatively inert molecular form in the Earth's atmosphere and converted into nitrogen compounds ....
in the soil where it grows, although this is rather newly discovered and is still a poorly understood part of its life cycle.

Food

The bean pods of the mesquite can be dried and ground into flour

Flour

Flour is a powder made of cereal grains. It is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many civilizations, making the availability of adequate supplies of flour a major economic and political issue at various times throughout history....
, adding a sweet, nutty taste to bread

Bread

Bread is a staple food prepared by baking a dough of flour and water. It may be leavened or unleavened. Edible salt, fat and a leavening agent such as yeast are common ingredients, though bread may contain a range of other ingredients: milk, Egg , sugar, spice, fruit , vegetables , Nut or seeds ....
s, or used to make jelly or wine

Wine

Wine is an alcoholic beverage often made of fermentation grape juice. The natural chemical balance of grapes is such that they can ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes or other nutrients....
.

When used in baking, the mesquite flour is used in combination with other flours – substitute ¼ cup-to-½ cup mesquite flour for each cup grain flour. Mesquite is used in breads, pancakes, muffins, cakes and even cookies. Mesquite can also flavour steaks, chicken, pork & fish. It can be added to vegetable stir-fries, scrambled eggs, soups, even ice cream.

Wild animals also eat mesquite bean pods. In places like Death Valley

Death Valley

Death Valley is a desert located in the southwestern United States. It is the lowest, driest, and hottest location in North America. Badwater, a depression located within Death Valley, is the specific location of the lowest elevation in North America at 85.5 meter below sea level....
and much of the Sonoran Desert

Sonoran Desert

The Sonoran Desert is a North American desert which straddles part of the United States-Mexico border and covers large parts of the U.S. states of Arizona and California and the Mexican states of Sonora and Baja California....
coyote feces may consist almost entirely of mesquite beans and pods can often be seen.

Traditional medicine

Mesquite leaves were once used medicinally; water infused with the leaves can be used as eye drops.

Wood

Mesquite wood

Wood

Wood is an organic material; in the strict sense wood is produced as secondary xylem in the stems of woody plants, notably trees but also shrubs, etc....
is hard, allowing it to be used for furniture and implements. Wood from Prosopis juliflora and Prosopis glandulosa is used for decorative woodworking

Woodworking

Woodworking is the process of building, making or carving something using wood....
and woodturning

Woodturning

Woodturning is a form of woodworking that is used to create wooden objects on a Lathe . Woodturning differs from most other forms of woodworking in that the wood is moving while a stationary tool is used to cut and shape it....
. It is highly desirable due to its dimensional stability, after being fully cured. The hard, dense lumber is also sold as Texas Ironwood and is rather harsh on saws, chain saws, and other tools.

As firewood, mesquite burns slow and very hot. When used to barbecue

Barbecue

Barbecue or barbeque is a method and apparatus for cooking food, often meat, with the heat and hot gases of a fire, smoking wood, or hot coals of charcoal and may include application of a marinade, spice rub, or Basting barbecue sauce to the meat....
, the smoke from the wood adds a distinct flavor

Flavor

Flavor or flavour is the sensory impression of a food or other chemical substance, and is determined mainly by the chemical senses of taste and olfaction....
to the food. This is common in Texas-style barbecue, while in the Southeast, hickory is usually used. Artisans and woodcrafters in Northern Mexico claim that mesquite should be cut under the light of a full moon to avoid splitting. While this has not been proven, mesquite does take longer to cure than most hardwoods.

Cowboys on the famed King Ranch of South Texas used mesquite fires to heat their branding irons and also to cook their lunches. A slab of fajita meat (skirt steak) was laid skin side down directly on the mesquite coals and cooked to well done. Flour tortillas (stored in their chaps or chinks) were also heated directly on coals and rounded out the meal along with strong coffee.

As an introduced species

The species Prosopis pallida
Prosopis pallida

Prosopis pallida is a species of mesquite tree. It has the common names kiawe, huarango, and American carob, as well as "bayahonda" and "algarrobo blanco" ....
was introduced to Hawaii

Hawaii

File:Pahoehoe and Aa flows at Hawaii.jpgThe State of Hawaii is a U.S. state in the United States, located on an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of Australia....
in 1828 and is now very common in the drier coastal parts of the islands, where it is called the Kiawe tree, which is a prime source of monofloral honey

Monofloral honey

Africa

Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km? including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area....
, Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and, with over 4 billion people, it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population....
and Australia

Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
and is considered by the World Conservation Union

World Conservation Union

The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources is an international organization dedicated to natural resource Conservation ethic....
as one of the world's most problematic invasive species.

Species

Prosopis alba
Prosopis alba

Prosopis alba is a South American tree species that inhabits the center part of Argentina, the Gran Chaco ecoregion and part of the Mesopotamia, Argentina....
Prosopis glandulosa (Honey mesquite)
Prosopis nigra
Prosopis nigra

Prosopis nigra is a South American legume tree species that inhabits the Gran Chaco ecoregion , in Argentina and Paraguay. It is known as algarrobo negro in Spanish language, which means "black carob tree" ....
Prosopis pallida
Prosopis pallida

Prosopis pallida is a species of mesquite tree. It has the common names kiawe, huarango, and American carob, as well as "bayahonda" and "algarrobo blanco" ....
Prosopis pubescens
Prosopis pubescens

Prosopis pubescens , is a small tree or shrub found in the southwestern United States and Mexico. It has light brown bark, usually short, straight spines , twice-compound leaves, and numerous, small, yellowish flowers appearing in elongate spikes....
(Screwbean mesquite)
Prosopis reptans (Tornillo)
Prosopis strombulifera (Creeping mesquite)
Prosopis velutina
Prosopis velutina

Velvet Mesquite is a small to medium sized perennial tree. It is a legume adapted to a dry, desert climate. Though considered to be a Noxious weeds in states outside its natural range, it plays a vital role in the ecology of the Sonoran Desert....
(Velvet mesquite)

External links

, , and at Texas A&M's Plant Answers
at the Texas Tree Planting Guide
article on wood to ethanol using mesquite