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Prosopis pallida

Authority	(H.B. ex Willd.) Kunth
Family	Magnoliopsida:Rosidae:Fabales:Leguminosae
Synonyms
Common names
Editor
Ecocrop code	8953

Notes
BRIEF DESCRIPTION A shrub or a small to medium-sized deciduous, usually spiny tree reaching a height of 8-20 m, with an irregular, often crooked, short trunk to 60 cm in diameter. It is thorny in the young stages. USES Wood used for crossties, piling, rural carpentry, vehicle parts, furniture, fenceposts, firewood and charcoal. The bark can be extracted for tannin. Gum exuding from the trunk can be used in glue and vanish. The tree is browsed and the pods used as forage for livestock. The pods are also added to soups and corn meal, made into sweet syrup used to prepare various drinks. Flowers are a source of honey. The tree is suitable for afforestaion of hot dry areas of high salinity. Thornlees varieties are planted for shade and as ornamentals. It is mentioned as a possible agroforestry species. GROWING PERIOD Perennial. Bears fruit from the second year. COMMON NAMES Algarroba, Algarrobo, Algarobo, huaranga, Algarrobo americano, Mesquite, Bayahonda, Kiawe. FURTHER INF Scientific synonym: P. limensis. Algarroba is indigenous to the drier parts of Peru, Colombia, and Ecuador along the Pacific coast. It can be found at elevations between sea level and 300 m. In Hawaii it occurs up to 600 m. The tree is drought hardy, it fixes nitrogen. Photosynthesis pathway C 3. The tree can become an invader and a troublesome weed. May be blown down by high winds.
Sources
Grassland Index Little E 1983 pp 240-242 [USE, LIMIT, RAIN, KTMP, TEXT, SAL] Habit M 1986 pp 63 148 Aronson J 1989 pp 64 [SAL] Skerman P 1988 pp 581 [USE] Goodin J 1990 pp 38 National RC 1980 pp 154-155 [USE, SAL, KTMP, RAIN, TEXT, DRA, FER] National RC 1979 pp 158 Hensleight T 1988 pp 384 [RAIN, TEXT, USE]