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Fabaceae FAMILY

Prosopis ferox

Prosopis ferox

Edibility
1/5
Medicinal
0/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitShrub
Growth—

A plant of the subtropics, just entering the tropics at elevations generally above 2,000 metres. Species in this genus generaly require a sunny position in a well-drained soil[1]. This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby[2].

Propagation

Like many species within the family Fabaceae, once they have ripened and dried the seeds of this species may benefit from scarification before sowing in order to speed up and improve germination. This can usually be done by pouring a small amount of nearly boiling water on the seeds (being careful not to cook them!) and then soaking them for 12 - 24 hours in warm water. By this time they should have imbibed moisture and swollen - if they have not, then carefully make a nick in the seedcoat (being careful not to damage the embryo) and soak for a further 12 hours before sowing[PFAF]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Prosopis+ferox>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

  1. [1]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  2. [2]Nodulation Plants in GRIN Taxonomy — United States Department of Agriculture · http://www.ars-grin.gov/~sbmljw/cgi-bin/taxnodul.pl?language=en ↩︎An online database listing plants that have either positive or negative reports on root and stem nodulation with nitrogen-fixing bacteria.
  3. [3]Journal of the Arnold Arboretum Vol. 57 — Harvard University · 1976 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org ↩︎A botanical magazine, this issue has a comprehensive treatment of the genus Prosopis as well as several other articles. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
  4. [4]Plantae Diaphoricae Florae Argentinae ó Revista Sistematica de las Plantas medicinales, alimenticias ó de alguna otr — Hieronymus J. · Guillermo Kraft; Buenos Aires · 1882 ↩︎A very old work, but lots of information on the uses of Argentinian plants. It can be downloaded from the internet.
  5. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎