MESQUIT (Prosopis juliflora, DC.). A shrub or small 

 tree, attaining a height of 15 or 20 feet, with widely spreading, 

 spiny branches, and forked leaf-stems bearing numerous pairs 

 of narrow leaflets, which are deciduous in winter. The small 

 yellowish flowers are borne in spring in conspicuous, dense, 

 cylindrical narrow spikes, 4 or 5 inches long. 



The Mesquit under several varietal names is found abund- 

 antly in the Colorado Desert of Southern California (and oc- 

 casionally farther west in sandy washes and on dry mesas of the 

 Coast country), eastward to Utah, Colorado, and Texas, and 

 southward to Mexico, presenting, however, several varieties. 

 The flat seed pods, 4 to 6 inches long, contain numerous small 

 beans, which were an important food supply of the desert 

 Indians. Indeed the tree has played many parts in aboriginal 

 life. From the sweetish pulp of the pods a sort of confection 

 was made; the wood, exceedingly hard and heavy, was used 

 in building; a black dye was obtained from the sap; a mucilag- 

 inous drink for sore throat was made from the clear gum that 

 exudes from wounded limbs; and the twigs were used in making 

 coarse baskets. The wood is an important fuel in the South- 

 west. The blossoms are rare pasture for bees, and the best 

 Mesquit honey is almost unrivaled in excellence. 

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