Mesquite

Mesquite, common name for any of a genus of trees and shrubs of the legume family. The genus is native to subtropical and tropical regions, and is especially abundant in arid regions in the New World. It is characterized by deep and far-spreading roots, and by numerous crooked limbs branching 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 sugary pod, edible and highly nutritious. The hard wood, often called ironwood, is used in making fence posts and railway sleepers, and the pods are used as fodder for livestock. A well-known species is the common mesquite, or algarroba. The mesquite attains a height of about 12 m (40 ft). A species from Chile is the only plant to survive in the extremely dry deserts in the north of the country.

Scientific classification: Mesquites make up the genus Prosopis of the family Leguminosae. The common mesquite, or algarroba, is classified as Prosopis glandulosa; the Chilean species as Prosopis tamarugo.