Honey Mesquite

Honey Mesquite grows up to 20 feet in height, typically at elevations below 4,500 feet. With twisted and spiny branches, this tree has small yellowish leaves and flowers that grow in dense 2-inch clusters with the bark growing in long, fibrous strips.

Traditionally, Honey Mesquite beans are dried and eaten, with pods often chewed as a sweet snack or stored as winter foods. The pods were also used to ground into a meal for bread making known as lazy bread (kumułł uchap). In addition to pods, the remainder of the tree was also used to make tools such as baskets with the sap commonly used as hair conditioner, and dye, paint, stain, and even medicine.