Prosopis juliflora
Mesquite or bayahonde
- Also called Mesquite, Bayahonde, Algarroba
- Haitian Creole Bayawonn
- French Bayahonde
- Tamil Seemai karuvelam (சீமைக் கருவேலம்)
Thorny evergreen tree or shrub, 3-12 m
What it is
Prosopis juliflora (now Neltuma juliflora) is a thorny tree in the pea family. It has feathery leaves made of small leaflets, pairs of sharp spines on the twigs and yellow flowers in long, catkin-like spikes. Its long, flat yellow pods are sweet. It is native to dry coasts of Mexico, Central America, northern South America and the Caribbean, and has been planted, and become invasive, in many dry parts of Africa and Asia.
What it's used for
- It is Haiti's main source of firewood and charcoal, because it regrows after cutting.
- Its sweet pods are fed to goats, cattle and donkeys.
- Its flowers are an important source of honey for beekeepers.
- Like many legumes it fixes nitrogen, improving poor soil.
Where we plant it
Our partners plant the mix of native species that suits each site and season, so a gift plants trees in the project rather than this one species. Prosopis juliflora is one of the species planted there.
More trees planted in Pollinator Agroforestry in Haiti
Spanish cedar (sèd)Cedrela odorata
Cacao, the chocolate treeTheobroma cacao
Sour orange (zoranj si)Citrus aurantium
Papaya (papay)Carica papaya
Arabica coffee (kafe)Coffea arabica
Avocado (zaboka)Persea americana
Lemon (sitwon)Citrus limon
Coconut palm (kokoye)Cocos nucifera
See all 16 species in Pollinator Agroforestry in Haiti
Other species we plant
Mangrove Restoration in Kenya
4 species
Rebuilding Oregon's Forests
5 species
Reforestation in Tamil Nadu, India
37 species
LimeberryBaheda or Beleric myrobalanBig-fruited jamunSouth Indian suregadaJamun, Naval or Black plumDevil pepper or Wild snakerootWoody-fruited PterospermumCork-leaved bayurVengai, Vijaysar or Indian kinoCeylon boxwoodCorky debbar treePanakka treeWinged naringi, a wild citrusPamburus, a wild citrus relativeElumbotti, the bone-knit shrubClimbing olaxBakul, Magizham or Spanish cherryKaya or Ironwood treeNotched-leaf spike thornPalai, Palu or KhirniPointed-leaf jasmineIndian screw tree or ValampuriGrewia, a dry-country shrubGrewia, a dry-forest shrubOrangeberry or KonjiGarlic fruit or Bitter garciniaHairy fig or PeyattiWild karanda or ConkerberryCansjera, a native forest climberShining bush-violetVagai or Siris treeUsilai or Krishna sirisChokkalai or Droopy leafWild lime or Kattu elumichaiKorinti, a custard-apple relativeIndian allophylus or TitberryLolly berry or Saptarangi
