Xeriscape Landscaping Plants For The Arizona Desert Environment
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Texas Honey Mesquite, Prosopis glandulosa v. glandulosa

Texas Honey Mesquite, Prosopis glandulosa v. glandulosa Photo Taken At October 11, 2006. Boyce Thompson Arboretum.

Texas Honey Mesquite Prosopis glandulosa v. glandulosa	Texas Honey Mesquite Prosopis glandulosa v. glandulosa

Texas Honey Mesquite Prosopis glandulosa v. glandulosa, Bean or Legume Family ( Fabaceae ), Texas Honey Mesquite. Also known as: Prosopis glandulosa, Prosopis juliflora var. glandulosa, Prosopis juliflora, Prosopis glandulosa var. torreyana, Honey Mesquite. Texas Honey Mesquite is a spiny deciduous tree that grows at a moderate rate to 20 or 50 feet. It has a spread to about 30 feet. Bright green shiny leaves, fine textured. Branches often droop near the tips. In spring, drooping tassels of creamy white flowers appear, followed by seed pods 3 to 9 inches in length. The Texas Honey Mesquite attracts a variety of desert wild life. Since it is a dense multi-branched shrub or small tree, the underbrush provides refuge for small desert mammals. Our desert rabbits will chew up the seed pods that fall to the ground by the end of summer, and the birds seek out the seeds. The edible pods taste similar to carob pods. Mesquite is on the Texas list of invasive species. Height: About 20 feet. Can reach 30 feet. Same spread. Flowers: Pale green - yellow, 2 to 3 inches long, appearing in late spring and early summer. Inflorescences, axillary spikes. Racemes spiciform about 2 – 5 1/2 cm long, multiflorous; with the petals 1/32 – 1/16 inch long; ovary stipilate, villous. Blooming Time: April to June. Stems/Trunks : An attractive gray shaggy - rough trunk; the twigs are jointy, branches gnarled and twisted. Leaves: The leaves glabrous, uni- or bijugate; petiole (with rachis when extant) 3/4 – 6 inches long; pinnae 2 1/4 – 6 1/2 inches long; leaflets 6 to 17 pairs, about 1/4 - 3/4 inch distant on the rachis, either linear or oblong, obtuse, glabrous, subcoriaceous, prominently veined below, with the costa often of lighter color, 3/4 – 2 3/4 inches long by 1/32 1/4 inch wide, usually 5 to 15 times as long as broad. Seed Pod: Brown pods; 3 - 9 inches long 1/2 inch wide. Elevation: 0 - 5000 Feet. Habitat: Deserts. Landscaping. Miscellaneous: Photos Taken At October 11, 2006. Boyce Thompson Arboretum.