When I was growing up in the early 60s, my friends and I used to ride our bikes in the empty lots around the Heights. Back in those days, since there were few homes already built, there were plenty of uncleared lots with thick brush and large mesquite trees. We had some really neat bike trails upon which to race and have fun. As long as we stayed on the paths, we were fine. However, if we lost control of our two-wheelers, and veered off-track, we were in trouble. Inevitably, we would careen into a heavily-armed mesquite branch, a clepe (Ziziphus obtusifolia), or a costilla (Condalia spathulata), any of which would oblige us with a flat tire. We learned the hard way to be more careful around curves in the trails.
The older mesquite trees exude an amber resin or sap that deposits itself along their twisted trunks. My buddies and I would collect it and eat it. It didn't taste bad per se, but then it really didn't taste like much either. We called it "honey-mama." It made our teeth stick together, yet had no sweetness to it at all. The ripe, succulent bean-pods, on the other hand, were quite tasty. We would pick them at their peak and enjoy them with gusto. They were like candy from the monte.
A friend once related to me how an old timer who raised goats used to pay him 50¢ for every large paper grocery sack full of mesquite bean pods. When the pods were abundant he could fill sacks easily and earn several dollars in a day. That was pretty good money for a kid, considering that a dollar could get you six delicious hamburgers at the Glass Kitchen. A big cherry-coke was only 10¢, and the best banana splits were only 35¢ at Lafon's Drug Store. Those were the days. Oh well.
Someone once told me that the best herb to reduce a man's panza was raíz de mezquite. If you have ever tried to dig up a mesquite with a talache, then you know how that remedy works. It has nothing to do with brewing a tea. Mesquite seems to have at least six feet of root depth for every foot of height. During our recent incredibly severe drought, with record-setting temperatures, the mesquite trees were seemingly unaffected. In fact, this year most mesquites produced bumper-crops of bean pods than in a normal year. It is during tough times as these that the mesquite and prickly-pear cactus can keep wildlife and livestock from starving to death.
To the botanist, the mesquite is known as Prosopis glandulosa, or P. juliflora. It is a member of the bean or legume family. Some of its other common names include honey mesquite, mezquite, mizquitl, algarrobo, huizache mexicano, pechita, chachaca, chúcata, and tahí.
If you are from around these parts, chances are you have cooked over a mesquite-wood fire and maybe you think that is about all mesquite is good for. For most people, mesquite means leña, or fire wood, but that is not all. A tea made from the sap, leaves, pods, or bark is used as an antiseptic and astringent, and is used to treat a number of ailments including diarrhea, dysentery, colitis, dyspepsia, hemorrhoids, urinary tract infections, kidney stones, excess menstrual bleeding, stomach ulcers, inflammation of the digestive tract, sore throats, skin sores, wounds, and abrasions. It is also popularly used to treat inflammation of the eyes, conjunctivitis, and gum disease. In vitro, the mesquite has shown anti-bacterial and anti-fungal activity against 32 different strains of bacteria and fungi. In rural Mexico and South Texas, an eye wash is made from the leaves to treat the eyes of sheep and goats.
The bean pods are very nutritious, containing as much as 13% protein (the seeds can contain as much as 60% protein with the seed coat removed), and 36% sucrose. They are also rich in calcium, iron, nine amino acids, eight fatty acids, three cholesterol-lowering phytosterols, two protective bio-flavonoids, complex carbohydrates, and dietary fiber. This is a definite health-food. Native American people, in what is now the US and Mexico, relied greatly on the crops of mesquite beans. They would grind them into a nutritious meal or flour. Some indigenous people still continue to do so today.
The legumes are nitrogen-fixers, which means they capture atmospheric nitrogen and increase soil nitrogen. Since the mesquite is a legume, it also fixes atmospheric nitrogen for its own needs and leaves plenty to share with other non-legume species that live under its canopy or nearby. One of the primary ways the mesquite accomplishes this is through a symbiotic relationship with root-dwelling Rhizobia bacteria that perform the actual nitrogen fixing in root nodules along the tree's root system. Some of the nodules on older specimens are actually gargantuan in size. This is one reason a mesquite tree always looks so fertile and healthy -- it actually is! Due to its deep, extensive root system, the mesquite also brings up deep nutrients and deposits them in the top soil in the form of litter, where shallower-rooted species, particularly the grasses, can appropriate the nutrients. You will always find the greenest grasses and brush closest to the mesquites.
The mesquite is one of nature's blessings to the desert. It is readily and abundantly available throughout the Southwestern US and Mexico. You don't have to go very far around here to find a mesquite. It needs no attention whatsoever to thrive. An older specimen will provide shade and branches for young kids to climb on and enjoy. If you are fortunate enough to have a large tree in your yard, hold on to it. It will probably be around for many generations to come.