Title: Mesquite - description, history, use and benefits
Headings: MESQUITE

Content: Screwbean Mesquite (Prosopis pubescens)
The Screwbean Mesquite is a shrub or small tree characterized by
2-inch, screw-like pods and spiny, twisted branches. It reaches a height
of 20 feet; the trunk may be up to 8 inches in diameter. The Screwbean Mesquite has light-brown to reddish, smooth bark that
separates into long, shaggy strips. Narrow, bipinnately compound leaves
2 to 3 inches long are sharply pointed. They are dull green in color and
slightly hairy containing 5 to 8 pairs of oblong leaflets 1/8" wide and 3/8"
long. The Screwbean Mesquite blooms May through August displaying many
crowded, 2-inch clusters of 3/8-inch light yellow flowers. The fruit is a
hard, 2-inch, spiraled, brown-to-yellow pod with sweet pulp. Velvet Mesquite (Prosopis velutina)
Velvet Mesquite is a larger shrub or medium-size tree characterized by
straight, 2-inch spines on the branches. Often growing in dense thickets,
it is larger than the other species, reaching a height of 30 feet;