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honey mesquite Fabaceae Prosopis glandulosa Torr. Listen to the Latin Print a QR link to this factsheet symbol: PRGL2
Leaf: Alternate, bipinnately compound, 3 to 6 inches long, usually with only two major leaflets (may occasionally have 2 to 3 pairs), each leaflet with 10 to 16 pairs of narrow minor leaflets (3/8 to 1 inch long) with entire margins and smooth surfaces, green to gray green above, paler below.
Flower: Small pale yellow to yellow-green in 2 to 3 inch long slender spikes in clusters of 2 to 6, appearing in late spring to early summer.
Fruit: A 3 to 7 inch long, tubular legume, slightly swollen at seeds, light brown, ripening in mid to late summer.
Twig: Light brown, slightly zigzag with obvious paired slender, spines (up to 1 inch long) at the base of each leaf; knobby spur branches may also be present.
Bark: Very distinct, rough shreddy to scaly, outer older bark gray-brown, newer bark reddish brown.
Form: A thicket forming, small tree to large shrub (up to 25 feet), typically with several crooked and arching stems forming a broad round crown.
 Looks like: screwbean mesquite - velvet mesquite - catclaw acacia

honey mesquite leaf image
honey mesquite flower image
honey mesquite fruit image
honey mesquite twig image
honey mesquite bark image
honey mesquite form image
honey mesquite map image

Additional Range Information: Prosopis glandulosa is native to North America. Range may be expanded by planting. Download the full-size PDF map.
External Links: USDAFS FEIS Silvics - USDA Plants Database - Horticulture Information - USDAFS Forest Products Lab
All material 2025 Virginia Tech Dept. of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation; Photos and text by: John Seiler, Edward Jensen, Alex Niemiera, and John Peterson; Silvics reprinted from Ag Handbook 654; range map source information