Velvet Mesquite

Velvet Mesquite Exhibit, Desert Foothills Scenic Drive, 1995

Many of us enjoy mesquite barbecued food. After the ironwood, mesquite is the best firewood in the desert; it burns slowly and is almost smokeless. It was an important fuel source for early settlers. Its name is pronounced mess-KEET, it is also known as common mesquite and algaroba. It is a small tree and member of the Pea Family.

• Grows to 30′ in height.
• Has yellow-green leaves and blooms in April and often again in August. Its greenish-yellow flowers are followed by slender, brownish seed pods.
• Grows at elevations under 5,000′ usually along washes or areas where the water table is high. Its roots can penetrate the ground up to 60′ in search of water.
• The velvet mesquite restores nitrogen to the soil and its flowers are an excellent source of honey for bees and other insects. Seed pods are eaten by wild animals such as squirrels.  Eighty percent of a  coyote’s diet in late summer and fall is composed of mesquite beans.
• Mesquite wood is also used for cabinet-making. Native Americans ground the seed pods to produce a meal called pinole. They used the bark to create medicine, baskets and fabrics.