Honey Mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa)

Family: Fabaceae | Edibility: Edible (3/5)

Iconic drought-tolerant desert tree bearing golden leguminous pods with sweet nutritious pith.

Edible Parts & Harvest Seasons

Edible Parts: Fruit, Flowers

Harvest Seasons: Late Summer, Fall

Flavor & Culinary Uses

Rich, caramel, cinnamon, and toasted graham cracker sweetness with pleasant malty notes. — Dry pods milled whole into fragrant, naturally sweet mesquite flour; Pods cracked and simmered into a refreshing desert horchata or sweet syrup; Flour blended with heirloom cornmeal for flatbreads and cakes

Habitat & North American Range

Arid desert basins, arroyos, washes, and dry grasslands of the American Southwest. (Zone 7, Zone 8, Zone 9, Zone 10)