<P> Mesquite is a common name for several plants in the genus Prosopis , which contains over 40 species of small leguminous trees . They are native to the southwestern United States and Mexico ( except the creeping mesquite , which is native to Argentina , but invasive in southern California ) . The mesquite originates from the Tamaulipan mezquital ecoregion , in the deserts and xeric shrublands biome , located in the southern United States and northeastern Mexico . The region covers an area of 141,500 km ( 54,600 sq mi ) , encompassing a portion of the Gulf Coastal Plain in southern Texas , northern Tamaulipas , northeastern Coahuila , and part of Nuevo León . As a legume , mesquite is one of the few sources of fixed nitrogen in the desert habitat . </P>
<P> Mesquite is a common name for several plants in the genus Prosopis , which contains over 40 species of small leguminous trees . They are native to the southwestern United States and Mexico ( except the creeping mesquite , which is native to Argentina , but invasive in southern California ) . The mesquite originates from the Tamaulipan mezquital ecoregion , in the deserts and xeric shrublands biome , located in the southern United States and northeastern Mexico . The region covers an area of 141,500 km ( 54,600 sq mi ) , encompassing a portion of the Gulf Coastal Plain in southern Texas , northern Tamaulipas , northeastern Coahuila , and part of Nuevo León . As a legume , mesquite is one of the few sources of fixed nitrogen in the desert habitat . </P>
how many types of mesquite trees are there
how many types of mesquite trees are there
over 40 species
over 40 species