Prosopis Stephaniana
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''Prosopis'' is a
genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
of
flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...
s in the family
Fabaceae The Fabaceae or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomenc ...
. It contains around 45 species of spiny
tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...
s and
shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...
s found in
subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Geographical z ...
and
tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...
regions of the Americas, Africa, Western Asia, and South Asia. They often thrive in
arid A region is arid when it severely lacks available water, to the extent of hindering or preventing the growth and development of plant and animal life. Regions with arid climates tend to lack vegetation and are called xeric or desertic. Most ar ...
soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former te ...
and are resistant to
drought A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D.  Jiang, A.  Khan, W.  Pokam Mba, D.  Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...
, on occasion developing extremely deep
root In vascular plants, the roots are the organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often below the sur ...
systems. Their
wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin th ...
is usually hard, dense and durable. Their
fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...
s are
pod Pod or POD may refer to: Biology * Pod (fruit), a type of fruit of a flowering plant * Husk or pod of a legume * Pod of whales or other marine mammals * "-pod", a suffix meaning "foot" used in taxonomy Electronics and computing * Proper ort ...
s and may contain large amounts of
sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...
. The generic name means "
burdock ''Arctium'' is a genus of biennial plants commonly known as burdock, family Asteraceae. Native to Europe and Asia, several species have been widely introduced worldwide. Burdock's clinging properties, in addition to providing an excellent mecha ...
" in
late Latin Late Latin ( la, Latinitas serior) is the scholarly name for the form of Literary Latin of late antiquity.Roberts (1996), p. 537. English dictionary definitions of Late Latin date this period from the , and continuing into the 7th century in t ...
and originated in the Greek language.


Selected species

* Mesquites (
southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...
,
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
) ** '' Prosopis glandulosa'' Torr. – honey mesquite; ''Haas'' ( Cmiique Iitom) ** ''
Prosopis laevigata ''Prosopis laevigata'', commonly known as smooth mesquite, is a species of flowering tree in the pea family, Fabaceae, that is native to Mexico, Bolivia, Peru, and north-western Argentina (Jujuy Province). In Mexico, the species is found in the n ...
'' (
Humb. Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 17696 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, naturalist, explorer, and proponent of Romantic philosophy and science. He was the younger brother of the Prussian minister, p ...
& Bonpl. ex
Willd. Carl Ludwig Willdenow (22 August 1765 – 10 July 1812) was a German botanist, pharmacist, and plant taxonomist. He is considered one of the founders of phytogeography, the study of the geographic distribution of plants. Willdenow was also ...
) M.C.Johnst.
– smooth mesquite ** ''
Prosopis pubescens ''Prosopis pubescens'', commonly known as screwbean mesquite, is a species of flowering shrub or small tree in the pea family, Fabaceae, that is native to the southwestern United States (Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, California, southern Nevad ...
''
Benth. George Bentham (22 September 1800 – 10 September 1884) was an English botanist, described by the weed botanist Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century". Born into a distinguished family, he initially studie ...
– screwbean mesquite ** ''
Prosopis reptans ''Prosopis'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It contains around 45 species of spiny trees and shrubs found in subtropical and tropical regions of the Americas, Africa, Western Asia, and South Asia. They often thrive in ...
'' Benth. – tornillo ** ''
Prosopis velutina ''Prosopis velutina'', commonly known as velvet mesquite, is a small to medium-sized tree. It is a legume adapted to a dry, desert climate. Though considered to be a noxious weed in states outside its natural range, it plays a vital role in the ...
'' Wooton – velvet mesquite *"Algarrobos", bayahondas etc. ( Neotropics, particularly the
Gran Chaco The Gran Chaco or Dry Chaco is a sparsely populated, hot and semiarid lowland natural region of the Río de la Plata basin, divided among eastern Bolivia, western Paraguay, northern Argentina, and a portion of the Brazilian states of Mato Gro ...
) ** ''
Prosopis abbreviata ''Prosopis abbreviata'', commonly known as the algarrobillo espinoso, is a species of flowering plant in the pea family, Fabaceae, that is endemic to Argentina. It is threatened by habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat los ...
'' Benth. – algarrobillo espinoso ** ''
Prosopis affinis ''Prosopis affinis'' is a species of flowering tree in the family Fabaceae, that is native to Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Common names include algarrobillo, espinillo, ibopé-morotí, and ñandubay. It is threatened by habitat loss ...
''
Spreng. Kurt Polycarp Joachim Sprengel (3 August 1766 – 15 March 1833) was a German botanist and physician who published an influential multivolume history of medicine, ''Versuch einer pragmatischen Geschichte der Arzneikunde'' (1792–99 in four vo ...
– nandubay, algarrobillo, espinillo, Ibopé-morotí ** ''
Prosopis alba ''Prosopis alba'' is a South American tree species that grows in central Argentina, the Gran Chaco ecoregion, and part of the Mesopotamia, Argentina, Argentine Mesopotamia, as well as Bolivia, Paraguay, and Peru. It is known as ''algarrobo blanc ...
''
Griseb. August Heinrich Rudolf Grisebach () was a German botany, botanist and phytogeography, phytogeographer. He was born in Hannover on 17 April 1814 and died in Göttingen on 9 May 1879. Biography Grisebach studied at the Lyceum in Hanover, the clo ...
– algarrobo blanco; ''ibopé'' or ''igopé'' ( Guaraní) ** '' Prosopis caldenia'' Burkart – caldén ** ''
Prosopis chilensis ''Prosopis chilensis'' is a species of tree in the genus ''Prosopis'', belonging to the family Fabaceae. It is found in parts of central Chile, southern Peru, Bolivia, and Andean (northwestern) Argentina. Its common names include Chilean mesqui ...
'' ( Molina) Stuntz – algarrobo Chileno, algarrobo blanco ** '' Prosopis fiebrigii'' Harms ** '' Prosopis flexuosa''
DC. Augustin Pyramus (or Pyrame) de Candolle (, , ; 4 February 17789 September 1841) was a Swiss botanist. René Louiche Desfontaines launched de Candolle's botanical career by recommending him at a herbarium. Within a couple of years de Candolle ...
– alpataco, algarrobo negro ** '' Prosopis hassleri'' Harms ** '' Prosopis juliflora'' (
Sw. Olof Peter Swartz (21 September 1760 – 19 September 1818) was a Swedish botanist and taxonomist. He is best known for his taxonomic work and studies into pteridophytes. Biography Olof Swartz attended the University of Uppsala where he st ...
) DC.
– bayahonda blanca, bayarone Français; ''kabuli kikar, vilayati babul, vilayati khejra'' or ''vilayati kikar'' (
Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
); ''trupillo'' or ''turpío'' (
Wayuunaiki Wayuu ( guc, Wayuunaiki ), or Guajiro, is a major Arawakan language spoken by 305,000 indigenous Wayuu people in northwestern Venezuela and northeastern Colombia on the Guajira Peninsula. There are 200,000 speakers of Wayuu in Venezuela and 1 ...
) ** '' Prosopis kuntzei'' Harms ex
Kuntze Kuntze is a surname of German origin. People with that name include: * Carl Kuntze (1922-2006), Dutch rower who competed at the 1952 Summer Olympics * Edward J. Kuntze (1826-1870), Prussian-born American sculptor * Otto Kuntze (1843-1907), German ...
– itín, barba de tigre, carandá, palo mataco ** '' Prosopis nigra'' (Griseb.)
Hieron. Georg Hans Emmo Wolfgang Hieronymus (1846–1921) was a European botanist of German extraction. He was born in Silesia and died in Berlin. He began his career as a medical student in Zürich and Bern from 1868 to 1870, but became interested in b ...
– algarrobo negro, algarrobo amarillo, algarrobo dulce, algarrobo morado ** ''
Prosopis pallida ''Prosopis pallida'' is a species of mesquite tree. It has the common names kiawe () (in Hawaii), huarango (in its native South America) and American carob, as well as "bayahonda" (a generic term for ''Prosopis''), "algarrobo pálido" (in some pa ...
'' (Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd.) Kunth – American carob, ''huarango, kiawe'' ( Hawaiian) ** '' Prosopis rojasiana'' Burkart ** '' Prosopis ruscifolia'' Griseb. – vinal ** ''
Prosopis strombulifera ''Prosopis strombulifera'' is a species of mesquite or '' algarrobo'', a shrub in the legume family. It is known by the English common names Argentine screwbean and creeping screwbean and the Spanish common name ''retortuño''. ...
'' ( Lam.) Benth. – creeping mesquite, Argentine screwbean ** ''
Prosopis tamarugo ''Prosopis tamarugo'', commonly known as the tamarugo, is a species of flowering tree in the pea family, Fabaceae, subfamilia Mimosoideae. It is only found in northern Chile, particularly in the Pampa del Tamarugal, some east of the city of I ...
''
Phil. Rodolfo Amando (or Rudolph Amandus) Philippi (14 September 1808 – 23 July 1904) was a German–Chilean paleontologist and zoologist. Philippi contributed primarily to malacology and paleontology. His grandson, Rodulfo Amando Philippi Bañados ( ...
– tamarugo *African species ** ''
Prosopis africana ''Prosopis africana'' is a flowering plant species in the genus Fabaceae. It is found in Africa. Its common names include African mesquite, iron tree, ''gele'' (Malinke) (traditional djembe wood) or ''somb'' tree. In the Serer creation myth, i ...
'' ( Guill. & Perr.) Taub. – ''gele'' (
Malinke Maninka (also known as Malinke), or more precisely Eastern Maninka, is the name of several closely related languages and dialects of the southeastern Manding subgroup of the Mande language family. It is the mother tongue of the Malinké peop ...
, traditional ''djembe'' wood) *Asian species (
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, mainly
Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...
,
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
to the
Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate ...
) ** '' Prosopis cineraria'' ( L.) Druce – jand; ''ghaf'' (
Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
); ''sami'' or ''sumri'' (
Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub- ...
); ''khejri'', ''sangri'' (
Rajasthani Rajasthani may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Rajasthan, a state of India * Rajasthani languages, a group of languages spoken there * Rajasthani people, the native inhabitants of the region * Rajasthani architecture * Rajasthani art ...
); ''kandi'' ( Sindhi) ** ''
Prosopis farcta ''Prosopis farcta'', the Syrian mesquite, is a species of the genus Prosopis, growing in and around the Middle East. Botanical details ''Prosopis farcta'' is a below-ground tree. Above ground, it looks like a shrub with a height of 20–100&nb ...
'' ( Sol. ex Russell) J.F.Macbr. ** ''
Prosopis koelziana ''Prosopis koelziana'' is a species of plant in the genus ''Prosopis ''Prosopis'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It contains around 45 species of spiny trees and shrubs found in subtropical and tropical regions of the ...
'' Burkart (
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
) ** ''
Prosopis spicigera ''Prosopis cineraria'', also known as ghaf, is a species of flowering tree in the pea family, Fabaceae. It is native to arid portions of Western Asia and the Indian Subcontinent, including Afghanistan, Bahrain, Iran, India, Oman, Pakistan, Saud ...
'' ( L.)


Formerly placed here

*''
Acacia atramentaria ''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus nam ...
'' Benth. (as ''P. astringens'' Gillies ex Hook. & Arn.) *''
Elephantorrhiza elephantina ''Elephantorrhiza elephantina'', commonly known as the eland's wattle or elephant's root, is a subshrub in the mimosoid clade of legumes. They occur widely and in several bioregions of southern Africa. Considerable size variation has been noted, ...
'' (Burch.) Skeels (as ''P. elephantina'' (Burch.) E.Mey. or ''P. elephantorrhiza'' Spreng.) *''
Prosopidastrum globosum ''Prosopidastrum'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It belongs to the mimosoid clade of the subfamily Caesalpinioideae Caesalpinioideae is a botanical name at the rank of subfamily, placed in the large family Fabaceae ...
'' (Gillies ex Hook. & Arn.) Burkart (as ''P. globosa'' Gillies ex Hook. & Arn.)


Taxonomic reclassification

Genomic research published in 2022 concludes that species grouped under the genus ''Prosopis'' actually represent multiple genera including '' Anonychium'', '' Neltuma'', ''Prosopis'', and ''
Strombocarpa ''Prosopis'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It contains around 45 species of spiny trees and shrubs found in subtropical and tropical regions of the Americas, Africa, Western Asia, and South Asia. They often thrive in ari ...
''.


Phytochemistry

''Prosopis'' species have been found to contain
5-hydroxytryptamine Serotonin () or 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) is a monoamine neurotransmitter. Its biological function is complex and multifaceted, modulating mood, cognition, reward, learning, memory, and numerous physiological processes such as vomiting and vas ...
, apigenin, isorhamnetin-3-diglucoside,
l-arabinose Arabinose is an aldopentose – a monosaccharide containing five carbon atoms, and including an aldehyde (CHO) functional group. For biosynthetic reasons, most saccharides are almost always more abundant in nature as the "D"-form, or structural ...
, quercetin,
tannin Tannins (or tannoids) are a class of astringent, polyphenolic biomolecules that bind to and precipitate proteins and various other organic compounds including amino acids and alkaloids. The term ''tannin'' (from Anglo-Norman ''tanner'', ...
, and tryptamine.Medicinal Plants of the Southwest
The tannins present in ''Prosopis'' species are of the pyrogallotannin and pyrocatecollic types. The tannins are mainly found in the bark and wood while their concentration in the pods is low. Some species, such as '' P. africana'' or '' P. velutina'', produce a gum (mesquite gum).


As an introduced and invasive species

The species ''
Prosopis pallida ''Prosopis pallida'' is a species of mesquite tree. It has the common names kiawe () (in Hawaii), huarango (in its native South America) and American carob, as well as "bayahonda" (a generic term for ''Prosopis''), "algarrobo pálido" (in some pa ...
'' was introduced to
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
in 1828 and now dominates many of the drier coastal parts of the islands, where it is called the kiawe tree and is a prime source of monofloral honey production. In Australia, invasive ''Prosopis'' species are causing severe economic and environmental damage. With their thorns and many low branches, ''Prosopis'' shrubs form impenetrable thickets which prevent cattle from accessing watering holes, etc. They also take over pastoral grasslands and suck up scarce water. ''Prosopis'' species cause land erosion due to loss of grassland that are habitats for native plants and animals. ''Prosopis'' thickets also provide shelter for feral animals such as pigs and cats. For more information on invasiveness of mesquite species, see '' Prosopis glandulosa'' and '' Prosopis juliflora''.


Eradication

Eradicating ''Prosopis'' is difficult because the plant's bud regeneration zone can extend down to below ground level;Mesquite Info
/ref>
/ref> the tree can regenerate from a piece of
root In vascular plants, the roots are the organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often below the sur ...
left in the
soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former te ...
. Some
herbicides Herbicides (, ), also commonly known as weedkillers, are substances used to control undesired plants, also known as weeds.EPA. February 201Pesticides Industry. Sales and Usage 2006 and 2007: Market Estimates. Summary in press releasMain page fo ...
are not effective or only partially effective against mesquite. Spray techniques for removal, while effective against short-term regrowth, are expensive, costing more than $70/acre ($170/hectare) in the USA. Removing large trees requires tracked equipment; costs can approach $2,000 per acre. In Australia, several techniques are used to remove ''Prosopis''.


See also

* Invasive species in Australia


References


Notes


General references

*Paciecznik, N. M., Harris P. J. C., & S. J. Smith. 2003
Identifying Tropical Prosopis Species: A Field Guide
HDRA, Coventry, UK. .

(FAO Document Repository)

(website of the Vascular Plant Herbarium of the University of Arizona in Tucson)
Plant Walk 2 UofA


External links

* *
U.S. Federal Noxious Weed List (USDA)The Prosopis Website (Has a nice range map)
{{Taxonbar, from=Q133422 Forages Medicinal plants Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Fabaceae genera