Plant · P-061

Honey Mesquite

Neltuma glandulosa

Honey Mesquite is a nitrogen-fixing tree whose seed pods grind into a sweet flour that has served as a staple food - one of the few trees anywhere that yields a grain substitute rather than a fruit. It flowers from February clear through September, making it one of the best bee forage trees for nearly the whole growing season, and its wood burns as prized firewood and charcoal. A taproot reported to run 18 m deep lets it reach water no neighbouring plant can, and thorns on young growth run up to 2 in. The pods are fine as an occasional treat for livestock but dangerous as a main diet - cattle that eat them as more than 60 percent of their feed for long stretches can develop fatal neurological damage.