Velvet Mesquite
Prosopis velutina
The signature shade tree of the Sonoran Desert, with fuzzy gray-green leaves, fragrant cream catkins, and protein-rich pods long ground into meal. A nitrogen-fixer that anchors desert washes. Like other mesquites, the sweet pod pulp is a traditional food, dried and ground into flour or made into a drink.
- Family
- Fabaceae
- Type
- tree
- Lifespan
- perennial
- Height
- 15–30 ft
- Spacing
- 15–30 ft apart
- Light
- sun
- Soil moisture
- dry, moist
- Soil pH
- neutral, alkaline
- Bloom
- May, June, July, August, September
- Bloom colors
- white, yellow
- Wildlife value
- pollinators, songbirds, mammals, larval host
- Landscape uses
- specimen, hedge or screen, erosion control
- Native states
- AZ, CA, NM