Prosopia glandulosa or honey mesquite is an attractive tree withredish-gray branches. It has a short trunk about 18 inches in diameter and can grow to reach 40 feet in height. Honey mesquite can be found over large areas in the Southwest, including southern Texas and eastern New Mexico. The honey mesquite flourished with the introduction of livestock by European settlers. Livestock are an awfully effective means of seed scattering for the plant. It is supposed that the small populations of honey mesquite founding southern California and around Shreveport Louisiana were introduced through livestock-transported seed along railways and stage routes. Humans have used this tree for numerous purposes. It has been used as a source of shelter, food, and medicine. Honey mesquite also makes an outstanding source of fuel for cooking. (Felker, 1979)
A lot of people believe the mesquite as a 'pest tree' that should be eradicated to arrange lands for crop-growing purposes. On the other hand, the woodworking industry is determined to refute this idea by using the tree in the manufacture of unusual kinds of wood products, including tables, flooring and veneers. It is a widespread name for any of a genus of trees and shrubs of the legume family. The group is native to subtropical and tropical regions and is particularly copious in the southwestern United States. It is characterized by deep and far-spreading roots and by frequent crooked limbs branching out close to the ground. The flowers, borne in spikes, have five sepals, four or five petals, many stamens, and a solitary pistil. The fruit is a pod, edible and exceedingly nutritious. The hard wood, often called ironwood, is used in making fence posts and railroad ties, and the pods are used as fodder for livestock. The best-known species is the honey mesquite, or algarroba. The......
