Title: What Is a Mesquite Tree? | Sciencing
Headings: What Is a Mesquite Tree?
What Is a Mesquite Tree?
Geography
Types
Size
Features
Benefits

Content: The screwbean also can get as large as 20 feet. It has a 2-inch fruit that develops from its flowers that resembles the spiraling shape of a screw. The velvet mesquite is bigger than the other two, with a diameter that can reach 2 feet and growing to an average of 30 feet. It has 4-inch long spikes and an 8-inch fruit, like the honey mesquite does. Features
Mesquite trees have a long taproot that they use to locate enough moisture to keep them alive. This feature allows them to survive through droughts. There are recorded instances of taproots of the mesquite tree reaching a depth of almost 200 feet down into the soil. The roots of the mesquite can regenerate if the tree is chopped off above, making the mesquite one tough tree to get rid of. Ranchers feel that the mesquite sucks water from the land that could be used for livestock and farming, making it unpopular with those individuals. Benefits
The benefits of the mesquite tree far outweigh any perceived shortcomings.