Prosopis pubescens
Screwbean mesquite
Fabaceae Family
Form: single or multistemmed small tree or shrub; vase shaped, open and spreading
characteristic seed pods of
Prosopis pubescens
Seasonality: deciduous
Size: to 25-40ft with equal spread
Leaves: bipinnately compound, lacy
Flowers: 1-2in pendulous yellow spikes; bloom in May & June
Fruit: corkscrew-curled bean pods develop through the summer
Stems/Trunks: sharp spines; dark bark on trunk and older limbs, bark sheds in long stringy pieces
Range/Origin: riparian areas of the Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts
Hardiness: thought to be to 10-15°FLANDSCAPE VALUE:
CULTURAL REQUIREMENTS:
- good small or patio tree, where spines are not a problem
- filtered shade
- distinctive corkscrew pods add interest summer through fall
- barrier hedge (shrub form)
- Exposure: full sun
- Water: deep and infrequent; for best appearance water every 2 weeks while in leaf
- Soil: any, good drainage
- Propagation: seed
- Maintenance: pod cleanup; training to tree form when young if desired
Prosopis pubescens close-up of blooms
Research by Master Gardener Devona Painter
NOTES:also known as "Tornillo"
Great choice as a natural trellis for climbing vines.
Also a good nurse tree for sun-sensitive small specimen cacti.
thorns on Screwbean mesquite tree
detail of peeling bark
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This page was first created March 27, 2004 and last modified February 10, 2006.
Web page design and photographs by Toni Moore, Master Gardener
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