Scientific Name:  Prosopis velutina
?Native deciduous shrub or tree in the Pea Family (Leguminosae)
?Pollinated by bees and other insects
?Provides shelter for many birds (for example, the Mourning Dove, Ladderback Woodpecker, Bewick's Wren, Verdin, Lucy's Warbler, and Vermilion Flycatcher all build nests in mesquite trees)
?Flowers are a source of honey
?Wild animals and livestock eat the ripe seed pods
?Germination is greatly enhanced when seed pods pass through the digestive track of large mammals; otherwise years of exposure are required to free the seeds of their protective coating
?A coyote?s diet consists of 80% mesquite beans in the late summer and fall
?Desert animals browse leaves
?A meal called pinole is made by Native Americans as well as the bark for basketry, fabrics, and medicine
?The wood is an excellent source of fuelwood and is used for cabinet-making
?Restores nitrogen to the soil
?Found along desert washes, stream sides and where the water table is high
?Small forests of mesquite, called mesquite bosques, are found along rivers
?Grows to 30 ft. or more

Photo: Taken at Jewel of the Creek at Cave Creek on September 29, 2007. For more photos, click on camera icon.

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