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

Content: Where distributions of
the species overlap, the plants hybridize,
often making identification difficult, according
to Wilson and his co-authors. From crown to root tips, the
mesquites have evolved a number
of adaptations especially designed
to help assure survival in the desert
environment. Their thorns, sharply
pointed and strong, challenge
browsing by desert herbivores. (“They will not decay in the flesh or
gristle as will prickly pear thorns,”
Dobie said, “but will last longer than
any flesh in which they become
embedded.”) Their leaves, small
and wax coated, minimize
transpiration (evaporation of the
plant’s water into the atmosphere). During extreme drought, the
mesquites may shed their leaves to
further conserve moisture. Their
flowers, fragrant and delicate,
attract the insects, especially the
bees, necessary for prolific
pollination. Their seeds, abundant
and protectively coated, may last
for decades, serving as seed
banks that improve the odds for
wide distribution and successful
germination. Most notably, mesquites’ root
systems give the plants a
competitive botanical edge in the
desert landscape. As hosts to
nitrogen-fixing bacteria, they help
enrich otherwise impoverished
desert soils in which the plants and
their progeny grow.