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Mesquite
Prosopis glandulosa var. torreyana
  
13 Nurseries Carry This Plant

About Mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa var. torreyana) 13 Nurseries Carry This Plant Mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa var. torreyana) is a common subspecies of the small to medium-sized flowering tree in the legume family, Fabaceae. It is native to the southwestern United States and Mexico, but has been introduced to at least a half-dozen other countries. In California's Central Valley and deserts it is an important habitat plant for many species of wildlife. Honey Mesquite has a rounded crown and crooked, drooping branches with feathery foliage and straight, paired spines on twigs. In some settings it will remain a low growing shrub forming dense thickets that are used as refuge by rabbits, quail, and other animals. In other settings it grows as a tree that reaches 20-30 feet, rarely as tall as 50 feet. It is highly adapted to arid environments with a very deep taproot (up to 100 ft.) to reach underground water. The fruit is a nutritious "bean pod" that is valued by many animals and was eaten by native people of the desert. It has spines and caution should be used when deciding where to plant it. It is an essential plant for the desert wildlife garden.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Plant Type
Tree

Size
Size
20 - 30 ft tall
20 ft wide

Dormancy
Dormancy
Winter Deciduous

Flower Color
Flower Color
Yellow

Flowering Season
Flowering Season
Spring, Summer

Wildlife Supported
 
Mesquite attracts a wide variety of animals including insects, rabbits, rodents, quail, roadrunners, thrashers, coyotes, and many others. The Prosopis genus is host plant to the Marine Blue and Leda Ministreak butterflies. This species is host to the Palmer's Metalmark and Reakirt's Blue butterflies.

 
Butterflies & moths hosted ( 22 likely * ) SHOW ALL
*
Atlides halesus Image
Great Purple Hairstreak Atlides halesusAtlides halesus
*
Echinargus isola Image
Reakirt's Blue Echinargus isolaEchinargus isola
*
Papilio cresphontes Image
Giant Swallowtail Papilio cresphontesPapilio cresphontes
*
Ministrymon leda Image
Leda Ministreak Ministrymon ledaMinistrymon leda
*
Urbanus proteus Image
Long-Tailed Skipper Urbanus proteusUrbanus proteus
*
Hemiargus ceraunus Image
Ceraunus Blue Hemiargus ceraunusHemiargus ceraunus
*
Hyles lineata Image
White-lined Sphinx Hyles lineataHyles lineata

Landscaping Information
Sun
Sun
Full Sun

Moisture
Moisture
Low

Summer Irrigation
Summer Irrigation
Max 1x / month once established

Nurseries
Nurseries
Carried by 13

Cold Tolerance
Cold Tolerance
Tolerates cold to 10° F

Soil Drainage
Soil Drainage
Fast

Soil Description
Soil Description
Prefers sandy or decomposed granite soil. Soil PH: 6.0 - 8.2

Companion Plants
Companion Plants
Use with other Desert trees and shrubs such as Desert Agave (Agave deserti), Elephant Tree (Bursera microphylla), Desert Lavender (Condea emoryi), Brittlebush (Encelia farinosa or actonii), Barrel Cactus (Ferocactus cylindraceus), Ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens), Chuparosa (Justicia californica), Beavertail Cactus (Opuntia basilaris), Palo Verde (Parkinsonia sp.), Screwbean Mesquite (Prosopis pubsecens), Smoketree (Psorothamnus spinosus), Joshua Tree (Yucca brevifolia), and Mojave Yucca (Yucca shidigera).

Maintenance
Maintenance
Best not to prune if a wildlife thicket is desired. To achieve a tree form, prune in winter to select a main trunk. Use caution in pruning due to sharp spines.

Propagation
Propagation?
For propagating by seed: Hot water or scarification. Fresh undried seeds No treatment. ( USDA Forest Service 1974).

Sunset Zones
Sunset Zones?
7, 8, 9*, 10, 11, 12*, 13, 14*, 15*, 16*, 17, 18, 19*, 20*, 21*, 22*, 23*, 24*

Natural Setting
Site Type
Site Type
Flats and washes in arid regions with underground water

Climate
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 1.9" - 26.0", Summer Precipitation: 0.13" - 2.84", Coldest Month: 33.8" - 63.4", Hottest Month: 62.6" - 90.8", Humidity: 0.87" - 49.48", Elevation: -271" - 6819"

Alternative Names
Common Names: Western Honey Mesquite


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Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links:   Jepson eFlora Taxon Page  CalPhotos  Wikipedia  Calflora


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