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: Mesquite Tree - Prosopis pubescens, Prosopis velutina, Prosopis glandulosa - DesertUSA
Mesquite Tree
Prosopis pubescens, Prosopis velutina, Prosopis glandulosa
Mesquite Beans
During the inevitable droughts and deprivations of desert frontier days, mesquite trees served up the primary food source for caravans and settlers. Mesquite beans became “manna from heaven” for the suffering men of the 1841 Texas Santa Fe Expedition said George W. Kendall (quoted by Ken E. Rogers in The Magnificent Mesquite) in his journal. “ When our provisions and coffee ran out, the men ate [mesquite beans] in immense quantities, and roasted or boiled them!” During the Civil War, when groceries often ran short, mesquite beans served as passable coffee. Mesquite blooms, pollinated by bees, yield a connoisseur’s honey. Mesquite is the most common shrub/small tree of the desert southwest. Like many members of the legume family (called Fabaceae these days), mesquite restores nitrogen to the soil. There are three common species of mesquite: honey mesquite ( Prosopis glandulosa ), screwbean mesquite ( Prosopis pubescens ) and velvet mesquite ( Prosopis velutina ). Mesquite beans, durable enough for years of storage, became the livestock feed of choice when pastureland grasses failed due to drought or overgrazing.