| Common Name |
Screwbean Mesquite, Tornillo |
| Latin Name |
Prosopis pubescens |
| Family |
Fabaceae |
| Sunset zones / USDA zones |
10-13,27-30 / 7-10 |
| Type / Form |
Tree / Medium |
| Native Habitat |
Below 4,000 feet in deserts from California to Texas
including Mexico |
| Soil |
Dry to moist, decomposed granite, sand, clay loam, low
to some organic content, well drained |
| Water |
Once per month |
| Exposure |
Full sun |
| Height X Width |
25 feet X 25 feet, usual 15 feet X 15 feet |
| Protective Mechanism |
Thorns |
| Leaves |
Alternate, bipinnately compound, 1 to 2
inches long, usually with only two major leaflets (may occasionally have
2 to 3 pairs), each leaflet with 6 to 9 pairs of narrow minor leaflets
(1/2 to 1 inch long) with entire margins and a fuzzy surface, green to
gray-green above, paler below. |
| Flowers |
Small pale yellow to yellow-green
in 2 to 3 inch long slender spikes in groups of 2 to 6, appearing late
spring to early summer. Fruit a
very unique, tightly coiled legume, 1 to 2 inches long, light brown,
ripening in mid to late summer. |
| Bark / Roots |
Very distinct, rough shreddy to scaly, outer older
bark gray-brown, newer bark reddish brown.
Twig light
reddish brown, slightly zigzag with obvious paired slender spines (up to
1 inch long) at the base of each leaf, spine is nearly white, knobby
spur branches may also be present. / Deep roots |
| Maintenance |
Low |
| Propagation |
Seed |
| Pest and diseases |
|
| Landscape uses |
Erosion control, rock garden, low maintenance, parkway |
| Garden Suitability |
Fragrant, Songbird, Sonoran, Butterfly, Ethnobotanical |
| Ornamental Value |
Yellow flowers in late spring, fragrant, interesting
seedpods |
| Nature Value |
Soil stabilizer, flowers used by butterflies and bees,
beans eaten by birds and mammals |
| Native American Uses |
Beans ground into pinole, medicinal, bark used for
basketry, cloth, and rope, wood used for firewood and making tools, gum
used for glues and paint, catkins eaten |
| Links |
|
| Images and data |
http://www.desert-tropicals.com/Plants/Fabaceae/Prosopis_pubescens.html |
| Images and data |
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosopis_pubescens |
| Images and data |
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/85886/ |
| Images and data |
http://www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-calrecnum=6879 |
| Images and data |
http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=PRPU |
| Images and data |
http://www.cnr.vt.edu/dendro/dendrology/syllabus2/factsheet.cfm?ID=540 |
| Images and data |
http://ag.arizona.edu/pima/gardening/aridplants/Prosopis_pubescens.html |
| Images and data |
http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/tree/propub/all.html |
| Images and data |
http://cals.arizona.edu/pima/gardening/aridplants/Prosopis_pubescens.html |
| Images and data |
http://www.cnr.vt.edu/dendro/dendrology/Syllabus2/factsheet.cfm?ID=540 |
| Distribution map |
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=PRPU |
| Nursery, images, and
data |
http://www.laspilitas.com/nature-of-california/plants/prosopis-pubescens |
| Nursery, images, and data |
http://www.cnplx.info/nplx/species?taxon=Prosopis+pubescens |
