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Prosopis juliflora
Fabaceae FAMILY

Prosopis juliflora

Prosopis juliflora

Edibility
3/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Tree
GrowthFast

A plant for the drier areas of the tropics and subtropics, succeeding from sea level up to elevations of 1,500 metres[1]. It can be grown in areas where the mean annual temperature ranges from 14 - 34°c, with an absolute maximum of almost 50°c; and where the annual precipitation is as low as 50mm or up to 1,200mm[1, 2]. It is intolerant of frost[3]. Adapted to many soil types from acid to alkaline and including strongly saline and severely depleted soils[1]. Requires a position in full sun in a light, well-drained soil[4]. Plants have very long tap roots and, once established, are extremely drought resistant[4]. They can also tolerate seasonal waterlogging[1]. Mesquite is sometimes said to dry out the soil and compete with grasses, particularly in dry areas[1]. Plants can begin flowering when 3 - 4 years old, often flowering twice a year and producing seed prolifically[1]. Hence in some areas, especially the more humid ones, it can spread freely and is considered a weed[1]. A fast-growing species[5]. The plant coppices readily[1]. The plant produces fragrant, nectar-rich flowers from which bees produce a fine-flavoured clear honey[4]. 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[6]. Total nitrogen, sulphur and soluble salts, as well as organic matter, have been shown to increase 3-fold in the upper 4.5 metres of soil under P. Juliflora[1].

Propagation

Seed - they can be stored for several years at ambient temperatures[2]. The seed has a very hard seedcoat and could take several years to germinate without pre-treatment to allow moisture to be absorbed. There are various ways of doing this - carefully making a small nick in the seedcoat, being careful not to damage the seed is very effective on a small scale. On a larger scale, soaking the seed in nearly boiling water for a few minutes (being careful not to cook the seeds) and then for another 24 hours in warm water is a common method[2]. Sow the seed in a sunny position in a nursery seedbed or individual pots. Germination of treated seed is usually fast, with 80 - 90% of the seeds sprouting within 4 - 6 days[1, 2]. Aerial seeding is applied successfully to quickly cover remote, extensive and poorly accessible areas[1]. Inoculation with Rhizobium and mycorrhizal fungi is advantageous[1] Root cuttings. Grafting. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Prosopis+juliflora>

Pollinators

Bees

References

  1. [1]World Agroforesty Centre — http://www.worldagroforestry.org/ ↩︎An excellent online database of a huge range of trees giving very good information on each plant - its uses, ecology, identity, propagation, pests etc.
  2. [2]Seed Leaflets — Various · Forest & Landscape. Denmark · http://en.sl.life.ku.dk/Publikationer/Udgivelser/PopulaerPublikationer.aspx?katid={D28373CC-6EF3-4EF8-B097-6D83FABF209E}&serieid={9F1C3DB1-6E7B-4CF1-AF53-F480B0CB40EF}&sort=title ↩︎A series of leaflets, jointly produced by the University of Copenhagen and the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, focussing on seed information for a number species, but also giving a lot of other information about each plant.
  3. [3]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
  4. [4]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.
  5. [5]Timber Trees of Meso America. — UNEP · 2005 · http://www.unep-wcmc.org/forest/timber/workshops/reports/MA2005/Annex%202.pdf ↩︎A PDF document, published on the internet. Detailed reports on about 30 species of timber trees from Central America.
  6. [6]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.
  7. [7]Common Trees of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands — Little E.L.; Wadsworth F.H. · USDA, Forest Service; Washington. · 1964 ↩︎Contains detailed information, and usually an illustration, on 250 tree species, including both native and exotic species.
  8. [8]Cornucopia II — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications, California. · 1998 · ISBN 0-9628087-2-5 ↩︎The second edition of an excellent guide to the edible uses of plants, though it does not give any details of cultivation etc.
  9. [9]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.
  10. [10]Protein Quality and Antinutritional Factors of Wild Legume Seeds from the Sonoran Desert — Vázquez-Moreno L. & Robles-Burgueňo M.R. · 1996 ↩︎
  11. [11]Biblioteca Digital de la Medicina Tradicional Mexicana — http://www.medicinatradicionalmexicana.unam.mx/index.php ↩︎A very valuable on-line resource with detailed information on many hundreds of medicinal plants used in Mexico
  12. [12]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.