Prosopis strombulifera
Prosopis
Argentine screwbean
mesquite
glabrous or pubescent.
ascending or spreading.
alternate, even-bipinnate;
stipules present, inconspicuous and early deciduous or modified spines; petiolate, petiole with sessile, circular glands;
pinnae 1 or 2(or 3)[–7] pair(s), opposite, apex with scalelike mucro or spine;
leaflets 6–60, alternate or opposite, overlapping or not, blade margins entire, surfaces sometimes glaucous, glabrous or pubescent.
40–100+-flowered, axillary, spikes or heads [racemes];
bracts absent.
mimosoid;
calyx campanulate, lobes 5, connate proximally, sometimes striate;
corolla yellow, cream-yellow, purple-brown, greenish white, or yellow-green, [reddish], petals connate or distinct, linear;
stamens 10 (5 + 5), distinct;
anthers dorsifixed, introrse, elliptic, apex pedicellate with a deciduous, capitate gland.
loments, stipitate or sessile, straight or spirally coiled, torulose, linear or cylindric, thickened, indehiscent, pubescent, glabrescent, or glabrous.
(4 or)5–25+, gray-green, tan, yellow-tan, yellow-brown, or brown, ovoid, reniform-ovoid, ellipsoid, or oblong.
ruiziana Burkart (found in Argentina) has fruits to 2 cm longer than var. strombulifera;
plants produce only one or two fruits per inflorescence.
= 14.
Prosopis strombulifera
Prosopis
Varieties 2 (1 in the flora).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Species ca. 48 (6 in the flora).
Prosopis was treated by G. Bentham (1842, 1846, 1875) as polymorphic and divided into several sections based on fruit types and derivation of the spines. G. Engelmann and A. Gray (1845), as well as N. L. Britton and J. N. Rose (1928), divided the North American species into two and three genera respectively. A. Burkart (1976) adopted the position of Bentham, and most North American authors have continued to follow his treatment.
In arid countries, species of Prosopis are valued for shade, fuel, food, and forage. Due to their hardiness and abundance, they are often an important component of the vegetation in these regions. Some species are invasive and are a problem for ranchers and farmers. At least 27 species are listed as potentially noxious weeds in the United States.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Inflorescences globose heads; loments coiled. | → 2 |
2. Spines 4–9 cm; leaflets touching or overlapping. | P. reptans |
2. Spines 0.1–2 cm; leaflets 3.5–5 mm apart. | P. strombulifera |
1. Inflorescences amentlike spikes; loments straight or coiled. | → 3 |
3. Loments coiled; leaflets 10–18. | P. pubescens |
3. Loments straight or curved; leaflets 12–60. | → 4 |
4. Leaflets alternate. | P. laevigata |
4. Leaflets opposite. | → 5 |
5. Leaflets 5–18 mm apart, blades (15–)20–63 mm, surfaces glabrous. | P. glandulosa |
5. Leaflets 3–4 mm apart, blades 4–13 mm, surfaces pubescent. | P. velutina |
CA
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
