Native Americans relied on the mesquite pod as a dietary staple from which they made tea, syrup and a ground meal called pinole. They also used used the bark for basketry, fabrics and medicine. A favorite of bees and other insects, mesquite flowers produce a fragrant honey.

The taproots, which can be larger than the trunk, are often dug up for firewood. Next to Ironwood, mesquite is the best firewood of the desert, because it burns slowly and is smokeless. The wood is also used for fenceposts, tool handles and to create aromatic charcoal for barbecuing.

Habitate: Sonoran, Mojave and Chihuahuan deserts from western Texas, west to extreme southwestern Utah, southeastern California and adjoining Mexico.

Found along side desert washes and streams, plains and hillsides, often in thickets below 5,500 feet.

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