129. PROSOPIS JULIFLORA MESQUIT, HONEY POD. 27 



I2gu PROSOPIS JULIFLORA, DC. 



MESQUIT, MESQUITE, HONEY POD. 

 Ger., Honigliillse; Fr., Cosse de miel; Sp., Algardba. 



SPECIFIC CHARACTERS : Leaves alternate or fascicled, glabrous or pubescent, de- 

 ciduous, witli terete petiole 2-4 in. in length and with 2 (rarely 4) pinnae 3-6 in. long 

 each with 6-15 pairs of short, oblong-linear, acute or obtuse entire leaflets sessile or 

 nearly so, f- in. in length, rigid and variously located upon the rachis, which ter- 

 minates in a slender point ; stipules deciduous ; branchlets with stout axillary spines 

 or unarmed. Flowers commencing in May and continuing for 2 months, small, 

 greenish-white, fragrant, nearly sessile, in the axils of minute deciduous bracts, in 

 slender spikes 1-4 in. in length and usually densely flowered, with peduncles scarcely 

 1 in. in length ; petals oblong-linear covered within with white hairs which project 

 as a tuft at the apex of the bud ; stamens twice as long as the petals and with large 

 conspicuous yellow anthers ; pistil with ovary clothed with silky hairs and with 

 short stipe. Fruit a straight or curved legume, 4-5 in. or more long and ^ in. wide, 

 flat at first but subterete at maturity and compressed between the seeds, pointed at 

 both ends, pale-yellow or mottled with reddish, longitudinally veined and with thick 

 sweet pulp, containing 10-20 seeds each in a closed nut-like membranous covering 

 (endocarp); seeds obliquely located in the pods, oblong, flattened and with shining 

 light-brown testa. 



(The specific name, juliflora, is from the Latin Julius or iulius, down or moss, and 

 flos, flower, refering to the hairy nature of the flower.) 



A small tree, and often but a mere shrub, but sometimes attaining the 

 height of 40 or 50 ft. (15 m.), with a short trunk 2 ft. (0.75 ra.) in di- 

 ameter. It has usually a loose, straggling, wide top of crooked branches, 

 and the trunk is invested with a brownish-gray bark, checking longitudi- 

 nally into loose, shreddy, fibrous ridges. 



HABITAT. Southern California and eastward to about central Texas, 

 northward to about the line of southern boundary of Utah and Colorado 

 and far southward, even into the south temperate zone, growing on dry 

 prairies and rocky plains. Its greatest development within the United 

 States is found along the desert streams of southern Arizona, where it 

 forms forests of considerable size. 



PHYSICAL PROPERTIES. The wood of the Mesquit is quite heavy, 

 hard, not strong, compact, with numerous medullary rays and many 

 quite evenly distributed open ducts, very durable in contact with the soil; 

 of a light chocolate-brown color often streaked with darker, and with 

 thin, light-yellow sap-wood. Specific Gravity, 0.7652; Percentage of Ash, 

 2.18; Relative Approximate Fuel Value, 0.7485; Coefficient of Elasticity, 

 58297; Modulus of Rupture, 485; Resistance to Longitudinal Pressure, 

 588; Resistance to Indentation, 343; Weight of a Cubic Foot in Pounds, 

 47.69. 



USES. This is a tree of great utility in regions where abundant. The 

 wood is used for the underpinnings of buildings, railway ties, fence posts, 

 paving blocks, etc , for which its great durability in contact with the soil 

 renders it very valuable. It is occasionally used for furniture, etc., and 



