Growth Form:Tree or multi-stemmed shrub; paired straight spines; branches arched and drooping, reddish-brown; branches and stems noticeably crooked or somewhat zigzagged; crown spread often wider than height.
Flower Color: Yellow, light yellow; inflorescence in catkin-like spikes; the fruit is a mostly straight, smooth (glabrous) slender pods are slightly narrowed between the internal seeds.
Flowering Season: March to August; April to August in California.
Elevation: Usually below 5,000 to 7,000 feet (1,524 - 1,700 m) elevation.
Habitat Preferences: Western Honey Mesquite is found in lower desert bottom areas, washes, mesas, alluvial and alkaline flats and soils respectively; it is found in both the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts.
Recorded Range: In the United States, Western Honey Mesquite is found in the southwest in the states of; AZ, CA, MO, NM, NV, TX and UT. It is also native to Baja California and central and northern Mexico.
Invasive/Noxious Weed Information: All members of the genus Prosopis are listed as a Noxious Weed by the state of Florida, however Western Honey Mesquite is not recorded as occurring in Florida. Although several international websites list all species of the genus Prosopis as weedy.
U.S. Wetland Indicator: In North America Prosopis glandulosa has the following wetland designations:
Arid West, FACU
Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain, UPL;
Caribbean, FAC
Eastern Mountains and Piedmont, UPL;
Great Plains, FACU;
Midwest, UPL;
Western Mountains, Valleys, and Coast, UPL;
FAC = Facultative, occur in wetlands and non-wetlands
FACU = Facultative Upland, usually occur in non-wetlands, but may occur in wetlands
UPL = Obligate Upland, almost never occur in wetlands.
Threatened/Endangered Information: In Arizona, pursuent to Title 3, Chapter 3, A.R.S. § 3903(B)(3), Western Honey Mesquite, Prosopis glandulosa var. torryeyana is both "Salvage Assessed" and "Harvest Restricted". Permits are needed from the Department of Agriculture to transport this species off of private land and also to cut or remove the plants for their by-products, fibers, or wood.
Genus Information: In North America, USDA Plants Database lists 40native and introduced species for Prosopis. Worldwide, World Flora Online includes 64 accepted species names for the genus.
In the Southwestern United States: Arizona, California and Texas each have 4 species of Prosopis, Nevada and Utah each have 2 species, New Mexico has 3 species. Data approximate, subject to revision.
Prosopis glandulosa var. prostrata, Honey Mesquite - TX;
Prosopis glandulosa var. torreyana, Western Honey Mesquite - AZ, CA, MO, NM, NV, UT, TX.
Comments: Western Honey Mesquite is more often found in washes and other drainage ways where water is or has been during the year. Vegetative communities include the Blue Palo Verde (Parkinsonia), Quail Bush (Atriplex), Desert Willow (Chilopsis), Fremont Cottonwood (Populus), Saltcedar (Tamarisk) and Goodding Willow (Salix).
All species of Mesquite make excellent firewood and their branches have been used as wood used for fence-posts. Pollen from all species are reported to be responsible for hay-fever.
Western Honey Mesquite, Prosopis glandulosa var. torreyana beans, pods and some leaf forage are extremely important food sources for wildlife including deer and small mammals and livestock and the densely growing plants provide cover for many species of wildlife particularly birds.
Several researchers have documented wildlife species such as Mule and White-tail Deer, Javelina and wild Turkeys feed off of Western Honey Mesquite beans and pods. Other large and small mammals and birds including quail, are also known to feed on these beans and that includes rodents, both cottontails and jackrabbits, skunks, porcupines, raccoons and coyotes.
Bird watchers have long known that the Mistletoe (Phoradendron spp.) berries found in most Mesquite trees are a delicacy of many species of birds.
Livestock including cattle horses, sheep, goats, mules, and burros also eat large quantities of Mesquite beans.
Beneficial Value to Butterflies, and Insects
Western Honey Mesquite, Prosopis glandulosa var. torreyana has attractive flowers, the flowers and their plants are visited and used by the moths identified below; and by butterflies, flies and other insects in search of nectar, food or shelter and protection.
Long-tailed Skipper, Urbanus proteus Common name unknown, Sphingicampa heiligbrodti
Find out more here from Butterflies and Moths of North America.
****Special Value to Honeybees****
According to The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation or other source, Western Honey Mesquite, Prosopis glandulosa var. torreyana, is recognized by pollination ecologists as attracting large numbers of honeybees. Click here for more information on their Pollinator Conservation Program.
****Special Value to Native Bees****
According to The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation or other source, Western Honey Mesquite, Prosopis glandulosa var. torreyana, is recognized by pollination ecologists as attracting large numbers of Native bees. Click here for more information on their Pollinator Conservation Program.
****Provides Nesting Materials/Structure for Native Bees****
According to The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation or other source, Western Honey Mesquite, Prosopis glandulosa var. torreyana, is recognized by pollination ecologists as providing nesting materials/structure for native bees; A plant that native bees nest beneath, within, or harvest parts from to construct their nests. Click here for more information on 5 Ways to Increase Nesting Habitat for Native Bees.
U.S. Forest Service; Fire Effects Information System (FEIS)
See the U.S. Forest Service online collection of reviews of the scientific literature for management considerations of Western Honey Mesquite, Prosopis glandulosa var. torreyana, are found here.
Etymology:
The genus “Prosopis” is from the Greek name for the burdock, however the reason for this application is as of yet unknown.
According to The Land Bird Johnson Wildflower Center the word “mesquite” is a Spanish adaptation of the Aztec name “mizquitl”.
Ethnobotany - Native American Ethnobotany; University of Michigan - Dearborn
Honey Mesquite, Prosopis glandulosa is used for a multitude of purposes by southwestern United States indigenous peoples.
Acoma Food, Porridge and Unspecified; Beans formerly ground into flour and prepared as mush and beans eaten raw or cooked as string beans.
Apache Food, Bread & Cake and Preserves; Seeds ground into flour and used in pancakes beans boiled, pounded or ground, hand kneaded and made into a jam.
Apache, Chiricahua & Mescalero Food, Beverage and Bread & Cake; Cooked pods and seeds ground, water added, mixture allowed to ferment and used as a beverage and bean flour made into pancakes and bread. Beans were gathered, boiled, pounded on a hide or ground on a metate, placed in a pan and worked with the hands until a thick consistency was attained.
Apache, Chiricahua & Mescalero Food, Pie & Pudding and Spice; Pods boiled in water, taken out, mashed, boiled again and eaten as pudding root used to flavor drinks and make them stronger.
Apache, Chiricahua & Mescalero Food, Substitution Food and Unspecified; Flour used in the absence of sugar to sweeten an intoxicating drink and beans cooked with meat and seed coats spit out when eaten.
Apache, Mescalero Drug, Eye Medicine and Pediatric Aid; Juice from leaves used for irritated eye lids and infusion of bark used for children with enuresis.
Apache, Mescalero Food, Beverage and Staple; Beans boiled, strained and used as a drink and beans ground into flour, mixed with other plant foods and eaten.
Apache, Mescalero Other, Hunting & Fishing Item; Resin used for fletching arrows.
Comanche Drug, Gastrointestinal Aid and Food, Staple; Leaves chewed and juice swallowed to neutralize acid stomach and pods made into a meal and used for food.
Isleta Drug, Eye Medicine;
Decoction of leaves and pods without beans used as an eye medicine.
Isleta Food, Bread & Cake and Candy; Beans ground into a flour and used to make bread and beans toasted and eaten as a confection by sucking out the juice and roasted beans eaten as a confection.
Isleta Other, Hunting & Fishing Item;
Limbs used to make shafts for hunting arrows.
Keres, Western Drug, Eye Medicine; Leaves made into an eyewash.
Keres, Western Food, Porridge and Vegetable; Beans ground into a flour, made into a mush and used for food and beans eaten raw for the sweet taste or cooked like string beans.
Kiowa Food, Fodder and Vegetable; Leaves used for fodder and pounded beans and pods used for food.
Laguna Food, Porridge and Unspecified; Beans formerly ground into flour and prepared as mush and beans eaten raw or cooked as string beans.
Pima Food, Candy; White resinous secretions used to make candy.
Yavapai Food, Staple; Pods pulverized and made into a meal for transporting.
Apache, Western Food, Beverage and Bread & Cake and Candy; Pounded bean pulp squeezed for the juice and drunk just like milk and dried seeds pounded into flour, moistened, allowed to harden into cakes and stored and pounded into flour and eaten as candy.
Apache, Western Food, Dried Food and Partridge and Staple; Pods dried and stored and dried beans pounded into flour and mixed into a mush and fresh pods pounded into a flour.
Apache, Western Food, Substitution Food; Pitch chewed as a substitute for gum.
Apache, Western Other, Fasteners and Fuel; Pitch used to attach arrow points to shafts and wood used for firewood.
Havasupai Fiber, Furniture; Wood used to make the base frame of the cradleboard.
Havasupai Food, Beverage and Candy; Plant used to make a drink and pods eaten raw like a stick of candy.
Havasupai Other, Fuel; Wood used for firewood.
Kamia Food, Unspecified; Pod used for food.
Kiowa Food, Vegetable and Fodder; Pounded beans and pods used for food and leaves used for fodder.
See complete listing of ethno-botanical uses at Native American Ethnobotany, University of Michigan, Dearborn.
Ethnobotany, Ethno-Herbalist
Ethno-Herbalist: Southern California Ethnobotany; Ethnobotany of Southern California Native Plants: Honey Mesquite, Prosopis glandulosa.
