Mezquite

Mezquite, the name of two trees or shrubs, of the natural order Leguminosæ, sub-order Mimosæ, bearing pods filled with a nutritious pulp, and found in Mexico, Texas, Arizona, &c. The Common Mezquite (Prosopis glandulosa, formerly Algarobia) is usually a large shrub (though sometimes 40 feet high), with stems often decumbent, and armed with strong straight spines. In dry seasons it exudes a great quantity of gum (Gum Mezquite), similar in quality to gum-arabic. The Curly Mezquite, Screw Bean or Tornillo (Prosopis pubescens, also Strombocarpa), although only a shrub or small tree, is of great value in the desert regions of the western part of North America, where it occurs along with willow-bushes near springs of water. Its wood is used as fuel, and its pods are much liked by cattle and horses; the Indians, too, use them as an article of food.