Prosopis pallida
Prosopis pallida
Safety & Hazards
None known
Cultivation Details
A plant of drier areas in the tropics and subtropics, where it can be found at elevations up to 300 metres[1]. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 22 - 28°c, but can tolerate 19 - 32°c[1]. Mature plants can be killed by temperatures of -2°c or lower, but new growth can be killed at -1°c [1]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 500 - 1,000mm, but tolerates 250 - 1,250mm[1]. Requires a sunny position. Succeeds in a range of well-drained soils, including saline soils[1]. Prefers a pH in the range 5.5 - 6, tolerating 5 - 6.7[1]. Established plants have deep tap roots and are very drought tolerant[2, 1]. The tree can form dense thickets. It is a prolific producer of seed, which can be dispersed by water, in mud adhering to animals, boots etc, and by being eaten and defecated[2]. It has escaped from cultivation in many areas and can become an invasive and troublesome weed[2, 1]. Plants grow quite slowly when young, to around 1 metre annually[3]. Plants are very fast to mature, able to flower and fruit within two years of sowing the seed[1]. Trees can be coppiced[3]. 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[4].
Propagation
Seed - it has a hard seedcoat and may benefit from scarification before sowing to speed up 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. Suckers Layering Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Prosopis+pallida>
Pollinators
Bees
References
- [1]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.
- [2]Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk — http://www.hear.org/pier/scientificnames/index.html ↩︎A very good website detailing weed species that have been introduced into the Pacific Islands.
- [3]Forest, Farm, and Community Tree Network — http://www.winrock.org/fnrm/factnet/factnet.htm ↩︎A series of in-depth factsheets on a wide range of plants, especially leguminous trees.
- [4]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.
- [5]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.