Title: Mesquite Tree - Prosopis pubescens, Prosopis velutina, Prosopis glandulosa - DesertUSA
Headings: Mesquite Tree
Mesquite Tree
Prosopis pubescens, Prosopis velutina, Prosopis glandulosa
Mesquite Beans
Getting Acquainted with Mesquite
Adaptations to the Desert Environment
Range
Mesquites as Botanical Enemies
Mesquites as Botanical Friends
Something that Belongs
The Desert Environment
The North American Deserts
Desert Geological Terms

Content: They were carried by early freighters, who fed the beans to their draft animals, especially in Mexico. Although often crooked in shape, mesquite tree branches, stable and durable, filled the need for wood during the construction of Spanish missions, colonial haciendas, ranch houses and fencing. Its wood served artisans in the crafting of furniture, flooring, paneling and sculpture. “ Of the tree mesquite,” said Dobie, “there is one kind of yellowish wood and another of a deep reddish hue as beautiful when polished as the richest mahogany.” In some areas, mesquites provide a bountiful harvest of wood for use in fireplaces and barbecue grills. Mesquites, requiring little water and only low maintenance, have found a place in Southwest xeriscaped gardens and parks. They not only produce beans and blooms that attract wildlife, they provide perches and nesting sites for birds, including hummingbirds. In the frontier days, according to Dobie, mesquites were used by the Indians and the settlers as a source of many remedies for a host of ailments. Indians and settlers believed tea made from the mesquite root or bark cured diarrhea. Boiled mesquite roots yielded a soothing balm that cured colic and healed flesh wounds.