Prosopis pubescens
Prosopis pubescens
Safety & Hazards
None known
Cultivation Details
Requires a sunny position in a well-drained soil. Plants can succeed in a wide range of soil conditions from light sands to heavy clays[1]. Tolerant of moderately saline soils and also of alkaline conditions up to a pH of at least 10.6[1]. Plants are very drought tolerant so long as their roots can reach the ground water; they can also withstand up to 3 months of the soil being inundated[1]. Plants resprout from the base if they are cut down[2]. Although top-killed bt severe forest fires, the plant will usually resprout from the base[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[1].
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: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Prosopis+pubescens>
Pollinators
Bees, Insects
References
- [1]Fire Effects Information System — http://www.feis-crs.org/feis/ ↩︎An on-line information site with comprehensive information on over 1,100 species of plant. Mainly developed to supply information on the effects of fire on plants and animals, it also contains a wealth of other information on the plants
- [2]Plants Database — United States Department of Agriculture · http://plants.usda.gov/java/factSheet ↩︎An online database with an excellent collection of fact sheets about native N. American plants.
- [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.
- [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎